GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A man on the way to a job interview said officers used a Taser on him three times for jaywalking. Police say he refused verbal commands and physically resisted.
This all began in March when the officers gave John Efford a jaywalking citation on Holcomb Bridge Road in Gwinnett County.
Efford said that a couple of minutes later, the same officers approached him again saying he jaywalked again. He said that's when they refused to answer his questions and began Tasing him.
"I was terrified," Efford told Channel 2's Tom Jones.
He was charged with two counts of obstruction and improper crossing a roadway.
Police sent Jones a use of force report that indicated the level of force used was within policy. It said Efford refused to follow verbal commands and physically resisted.
An officer’s body cam video recorded the incident.
“Hands behind your back now! Cuff him. You’re going to get Tased again,” an officer is heard on video.
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Once officers arrested Efford, he asked what did do.
“You jaywalked again right in front of us. Again, bro,” the officer said.
“Y'all doing all that over jaywalking?” Efford responded.
Efford said the officers used excessive force and he said it was unlawful arrest.
“This video is a classic case of police brutality,” said his attorney, Jackie Patterson.
Patterson said officers terrorized his client for no reason.
“All you had to do was write him a ticket and let him go,” Patterson said.
Patterson said the charges were dropped after prosecutors saw the video.
Efford is not letting this go.
“I want them to lose their jobs,” Efford said.
In the use of force report, a major said officer Charles Bynum was counseled on the importance of advising suspects they are under arrest.
Another major said the officer's version of what happened and the video were not consistent. Still, it said the use of force was within policy.
Efford said he plans to file a lawsuit.