Atlanta officer fired after video shows him kick woman in the head

ATLANTA — An Atlanta police officer has been fired after an investigation into a viral video that showed him kicking a woman in the head.

The video shows a woman on her stomach in handcuffs when a male officer, now identified as Sgt. Marc Theodule, then appears to kick her in the head.

According to the Instagram post that accompanied the video, police were called out to an apartment complex in the Summerhill neighborhood for a domestic incident.

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Sgt. Theodule and a female officer seen in the video, Ofc. Bridget Citizen, were placed on unpaid suspension after the video became public while APD conducting an investigation.

That investigation found that Theodule violated department policy and acted outside of APD standards and training. He was officially terminated on August 2.

Investigators also determined that Citizen did not violate the department’s policy on duty to intervene. They say the policy is meant to prompt officers to action during active situations. In this case, the kick only happened once and did not continue.

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Citizen also reported the incident to a supervisor a short time later. She has been returned to full duty.

APD spokespeople released a statement saying

I want our officers and the public to know that I do not take terminating employees lightly. But I also understand that the Atlanta Police Department must be held to the highest standards and with that comes accountability when departmental policy is violated. Considering all the facts, I support the findings and recommendations made in this case.

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