Protesters are asking Sandersville to remove a volunteer firefighter from the department for his role in the stun gun death of a man who was in custody at the time of his death.
The protest stems from an incident in 2017 when sheriff deputies responded to a call about Eurie Martin, a mentally ill black man. Martin was walking through a neighborhood in Deepstep and asked someone for water. Someone called the sheriff and reported him as a suspicious person.
Washington County Deputies Henry Lee Copeland, Michael Howell, and Rhett Scott responded to the call, and two deputies fired tasers at Martin 15 times, killing him. Michael Howell, who did not have a taser that day, is also a Sandersville firefighter. The incident was caught on video.
All three deputies were fired from the sheriff’s office over the incident, but a jury could not reach a verdict on whether they were guilty of any crimes.
Protesters say the department should remove Howell because he did not renter aid to Martin after he was tazed. Department policy calls for removal of firefighters who are convicted of a crime.
