EAST POINT, Ga. — Two former East Point police officers have been charged in the 2014 death of a man who was Tasered while handcuffed, according to Channel 2's Mark Winne.
The sources tell Winne that Cpl. Howard Weems and Sgt. Marcus Eberhart were indicted on seven charges Tuesday, including involuntary manslaughter and felony murder.
Gregory Towns died April 11 following a confrontation with the officers.
According to Towns’ family attorney, Chris Stewart, Towns was not resisting when was stunned repeatedly with Tasers while handcuffed shortly before dying.
A lawsuit, filed by the family of Towns, claims an officer Tased him up to 13 times while he was in handcuffs.
Channel 2's Liz Artz received a statement from police about the indictments against the two former officers in connection with the Taser death.
We broke the news of the indictments against Cpl. Howard Weems and Sgt. Marcus Eberhart on the WSB-TV app and Channel 2 Action News at Noon.
Artz spoke to Claudia Towns minutes after an indictment came down charging the two former police officers with murder for her son Gregory Towns' death.
"He was my only boy, my only boy my only son," Claudia Towns said.
Artz made several phone calls to the attorneys representing Sgt. Marcus Eberhart and Cpl. Howard Weems. Eberharts Attorney's said they have no comment at this time about the indictment. Weems' attorney Don English gave Artz the following statement:
"I can state that Officer Weems is disappointed in the grand jury's decision but is looking forward to clearing his name at trial where all the evidence will be heard, not just the state's version.
He will be giving you a more detailed statement at a later date."
Stewart told Artz the indictment is one more step in the right direction.
"It'll be good enough when officers realize they're going to be held accountable just like your everyday citizen who goes to jail when they do something wrong," Stewart said.
Stewart commended East Point's former chief for acting swiftly with disciplinary action, firing Cpl. Howard Weems within months of the incident last year, the city settled a hefty lawsuit and all East Point officers were banned from Taser use until they completed advanced training.
"It's a step towards justice but we're not there yet," Stewart said.
A trial date has not been set, and it's unknown if the officers will be tried together.
WSBTV
