In a rare outcome, two cops in Gwinnett County, Georgia have been fired after video showed them beating a defenseless suspect during a traffic stop. And it happened almost immediately, not after weeks or months of paid leave or anything like that.





One controversial incident has now led to the termination of two Gwinnett County police officers. Gwinnett police announced just before 7 p.m. Thursday that Sgt. Michael Bongiovanni, who had been with the department for more than two decades, had been fired. The announcement came shortly after a new video from a Wednesday afternoon traffic stop near Lawrenceville surfaced — and just a few hours after a colleague, Master Police Officer Robert McDonald, was fired for his actions during the same incident. McDonald was fired after a video posted on social media showed him kicking a suspect in a traffic stop in the face while he lied on the ground. A second video showing Bongiovanni, who had not previously been accused of wrongdoing, emerged online late in the afternoon. It shows Bongiovanni punching the same suspect, 21-year-old Demetrius Hollins, in the face while Hollins has his hands up.

And the news gets better:

A criminal investigation has been launched into Bongiovanni’s actions, as well as those of McDonald. Before news of Bongiovanni’s termination spread, Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said he “anticipated” there being criminal charges filed against his colleague. “We acknowledge that the actions of these two officers have implications that will be felt for some time,” the department’s final Thursday night news release said. “However, we also believe that our decisive action in terminating both officers speaks volumes about what is expected of each officer that wears a Gwinnett County police badge.”

Good. Charge them with assault because that’s what it is. The fact that they had badges does not change that reality even one iota. More of this, please. A lot more.