FLOYD COUNTY, Ga. – Newly released video of a 2017 incident in Floyd County involving the use of a Taser has been released as the county faces a lawsuit over excessive force allegations.

Video from the Floyd County Jail shows deputies laughing as Juan Porter reacts to the sound of a Taser, minutes after a deputy had already shocked him in the jail for allegedly acting belligerently.

Porter, who was in custody on a drunkenness charge, nearly collapses while in handcuffs at the sound of the Taser.

Sgt. Matthew Battle, the deputy who had used the Taser on Porter earlier, appears to trigger his twice while he and other deputies laugh.

“It is outrageous,” said Felicia Curry, Porter’s mother. “It did some damage to my son mentally.”

Porter, now 22, was arrested for a city drunkenness charge after he reported to police that he had been attacked by four people in January 2017.

Rome police transported him to the jail where deputies attempted to calm him down, according to a police report.

When he became belligerent, a deputy was forced to deploy his Taser, according to authorities.

Porter’s family has alleged that he was intoxicated and on the ground at the time he was shocked. Video released by the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office does not capture the actual incident.

“He was not a threat,” Curry said. “He was on the ground.”

Battle was terminated in February of last year for violating policy, a month after Curry made a formal complaint alleging excessive force.

In a statement at the time, the sheriff’s office said, “misconduct of any kind will not be tolerated.”

Still, Curry believes the video shows Battle was not the only person at fault.

“That’s not enough,” Curry said. “All of the people that participated in that video … I need something done about all of them.”

A spokesperson was not available to comment Monday morning, but the Sheriff’s Office said more information could be made available later in the week.

Curry said she met with an attorney who drafted a lawsuit over the weekend.

Source: https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/victim-claims-video-shows-officers-taunting-him-laughing-during-tasering-incident/791417923