Roderick Walker Case: Rideshare Passenger Beaten By Ga. Cops Must See Neurologist
Roderick Walker, the Clayton County, Ga., rideshare passenger who was pinned down and punched repeatedly by sheriff’s deputies in viral video recorded by his girlfriend, has been released on bond from Fulton County Jail with an ankle monitor.
Local Atlanta station WSB-TV reported that Walker, 26, was given a signature bond and released Thursday (Sept. 17).
In the incident, which took place Sept. 11, Walker and his girlfriend, Juanita Davis, were passengers in a rideshare vehicle when the deputies claim they stopped the car for a traffic violation. Davis says that the deputies walked up to the vehicle and immediately asked Walker for his identification.
Walker asked why the officers needed it since he was a passenger. He was asked to step out of the car and the physical conflict between him and the officers ensued. One of the deputies involved has since been fired, according to WSB-TV. His name has not yet been released, but Walker wants charges filed against him.
Davis took out her cellphone and began to record what happened. But she told BET.com in an interview that she was forced to choose between trying to help Walker and fending for her children, who were in the car with them at the time.
“I had to just think about my children. Yes, I wanted to intervene. Do I care about going to jail trying to help someone I love, no I don’t, but I have a five-year-old and a four-month-old that I knew I had to be home with,” said Davis. “It’s bad enough that their dad had to go, but there’s no reason that their mom had to go too. I did my part recording and I have my evidence.”
Walker was taken to Clayton County Jail on two counts of obstruction and two counts of battery, but made bond there earlier this week. He was transferred to Fulton County Jail on charges of felony probation violation.
His attorneys said they arranged for him to have a neurological examination and to be seen by an orthopedic specialist saying that he has had “numerous medical issues following the violent beating he endured.”
An investigation into the case has been sent to the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office.
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