PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been called in to review an arrest and the use of force by a Paulding County sheriff’s deputy.
It comes after dash camera video was released showing the deputy body slamming a man to the ground.
Tyler Canaris said he was on the way to work but Deputy Michael McMaster didn’t believe him.
The deputy tried to handcuff Canaris because he said he matched the description of someone breaking into cars.
Dashcam video captured what happened next.
“I’m not breaking into any cars,” Canaris told McMaster.
That’s when the video shows McMaster pick up Canaris and body slam the 30-year-old man to the ground.
As Canaris cries out in pain, McMaster curses at him.
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“Get your hands behind your (expletive) back,” McMaster says to Canaris on the video.
Canaris is then called a vile name. He is handcuffed and taken into custody.
Before the body slam, McMaster stopped Canaris, who was walking along a street in the Evans Mills subdivision. Records show Canaris lives in that subdivision.
The sheriff’s office now says Canaris was not the person they were looking for.
A spokesperson told Channel 2′s Tom Jones that Canaris resisted giving up his backpack and that’s when force was used. The sheriff’s office has now asked the GBI to investigate.
“We’re aware of the scrutiny and that’s why the Sheriff’s Office made the decision to contact the GBI and have them come in and conduct an investigation into this incident,” Sgt. Ashley Henson with the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office said.
Canaris suffered a broken collarbone and was charged with obstruction.
The incident happened nearly a year ago.
The sheriff’s office said it just asked the GBI to step in on Friday because of the public outcry.
Meanwhile, McMaster remains on desk duty.
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