Former Georgia Police Officer Sentenced To Life For Taser Murder

EAST POINT, GA — A former Georgia police officer has been sentenced to life in prison for murder after ordering what would become the Taser death of a handcuffed man.

Marcus Eberhart, a former sergeant with the police department in East Point, near Atlanta, had been found guilty Friday on charges including felony murder.

On Wednesday, a Fulton County judge sentenced him to life, with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

Eberhart and another former officer, Howard Weems, were charged in the 2014 death of Gregory Towns.

Eberhart ordered Weems to use a Taser on Towns because, despite being handcuffed, he was not following police instructions.

Weems was sentenced to five years in prison, with 18 months to serve, after being convicted on charges including involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct. Weems was found not guilty on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault.

Officers were responding to a domestic violence call on April 11, 2014, when they arrested Towns.

Towns ran from officers, police say, then, after he was caught and handcuffed, told them he was too tired to get up and follow their commands.

Both Eberhart and Weems used Tasers on the handcuffed Towns in an effort to get him to comply. He was shocked multiple times, became unresponsive and died a short time later.

Defense lawyers had tried to argue that Towns died because of a rare sickle cell trait and that the officers were justified because he wasn't complying.

Towns' girlfriend Aisha Smith, who called 911 that day, said she wasn't satisfied with the sentences, particularly that of Weems.

"Moving forward, I will no longer put my faith in police officers, the courts anything like that," she told WSB-TV.

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