Second Officer Fired After Violent Traffic Stop Video

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — A second Gwinnett County Police officer has been fired after video showed him striking a man in the face during a traffic stop.

The firing came late Thursday, hours after Master Police Officer Robert McDonald was terminated for kicking the same man in the head after he was already handcuffed.

Police say a second video surfaced showing Sgt. Michael Bongiovanni strike the man, despite the fact he was getting out of his vehicle with his hands up.

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Based on the original video, which was shared online by a local Black Lives Matter activist, and an internal investigation, McDonald had been thought to be the only aggressor in the incident.

"The revelations uncovered in this entire investigation are shocking," Gwinnett County Police spokesman Cpl. Deon Washington said. "We are fortunate that this second video was found and we were able to move swiftly to terminate a supervisor who lied and stepped outside of his training and state law.

"We acknowledge that the actions of these two officers have implications that will be felt for some time. 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."

The incident happened around 4 p.m. Wednesday at the intersection of Sugarloaf Parkway and Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road.

The original video, which shows McDonald, as the second officer on the scene, running forward and stomping on the man's head while he lay handcuffed on the ground, had been viewed more than 227,000 times Friday morning.

The second video appears to show Bongiovanni, apparently unprovoked, throwing a punch at the man while his hands are raised.

Bongiovanni was hired by Gwinnett Police in September 1998 and graduated the police academy February 1999.Washington said an ambulance was called to the scene and treated the injured man.

Photo via Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta Facebook page