GA Deputy accused of beating 12 yr old unruly child when off duty

Deputy hit the child with his baton, punch him, threatened with his tazer, etc...

The Richmond County Sheriff's Office has released the name of a now former deputy accused of handcuffing a 12-year-old to a basketball goal and abusing him.

According to The Richmond County Sheriff's Office, Alton Walter is accused of going to a friend's house to provide discipline for what's being described as an unruly 12-year-old boy on Tuesday. There, the off-duty uniformed deputy allegedly hit the child in the face with his hand several times, punched him in the stomach, and threatened him with his Taser.

The report states Walker is accused of striking the child in his legs and ASP baton but the only visible marks shown on the child were on his wrist.

The mother tells 12 she wasn't home at the time and she just wanted Walker to talk to her son, not beat him.

A witness says he heard the boy crying and looked over fence to see the deputy Tasing and closed fist punching the boy. The witness says he even saw Walker use his baton.

Investigators obtained arrest warrants for Deputy Walker for felony charges of False Imprisonment and Cruelty to Children in the 1st Degree, according to a release from Rollins.

Authorities say because Deputy Walker was representing himself as a Richmond County deputy, the warrants had to be signed by a Superior Court judge, which was done Wednesday morning.

Based on this incident, Deputy Walker was terminated from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, effective immediately, according to the sheriff's office.

Boy claims to have been electrocuted

Richmond County Sheriff’s Office deputy has been fired and is facing criminal charges for allegedly beating and Tasering a 12-year-old boy after handcuffing him to a pole, WRDW is reporting.

According to the boy’s mother, she asked Walter to speak with her son because she was worried about him “running with the wrong crowd.”

“That’s all the situation was supposed to have been,” she explained. “That the officer come over, speak to my son, talk to him verbally, just conversation. No physical contact, no nothing.”

One neighbor stated he saw the deputy handcuff the young man to a pole holding up a basketball backboard before he began punching him “like he was a boxer.” He added that the deputy also used his service baton to hit the Brandon in the legs, knocking him to the ground.

Neighbors also reported that the officer used his Taser on Brandon, although Walter told investigators he just used it to menace the boy.

Asked by a reporter if he had been Tasered, Brandon replied that he had been ‘electrocuted.”

“The things that this officer did to my child, in his own yard, was what I was trying to prevent happening to my child, period, ” Brandon’s mother explained.

We need to get rid of these bad apples in a very quick hurry. It's so bad now they no longer care whom they hurt, including children. We already know they care nothing for the disabled and the elderly. Now we are learning children are not even off limits. Just how low will the monsters in their midst go?

a reply to: Anyafaj

They did "get rid of" him. He was fired PDQ and charged with at least two felonies. The SO doesn't sound like they're doing much to try and protect him.

Imo, anyway.

originally posted by: Shamrock6
a reply to: Anyafaj

They did "get rid of" him. He was fired PDQ and charged with at least two felonies. The SO doesn't sound like they're doing much to try and protect him.

Imo, anyway.

Not just this POS, but all of them!

Enough is enough is enough is enough!

originally posted by: Shamrock6
a reply to: Anyafaj

They did "get rid of" him. He was fired PDQ and charged with at least two felonies. The SO doesn't sound like they're doing much to try and protect him.

Imo, anyway.

It sounds that way right now but lets wait and see. Best case scenario is that the prosecutor nails him. The worst case scenario is he gets away. Even the best case isn't all that good though, because for every cop like this that you do catch... how many are you not catching? Police officers don't come up with ideas like chaining children up and beating them to instill discipline on their own. This sort of reaction is a result of cop culture, and the mentality their training brings about.

a reply to: Aazadan

I don't think handcuffing a child to a pole, beating them, tasing them, all while wearing a uniform and being off duty is a result of training.

It's the result of being a d-bag with a badge. It's a result of being a jackbag. It's a result of not being a good person in any sense of the word. This particular waste of air happened to be a cop.

My point remains: all too often here we see people screaming about a cop doing something and the "thin blue line" closing ranks. Seems to me the SO got rid of him as fast as they could. The SO is the one that sought, and brought, the charges. Is he convicted yet? No, it's ongoing. Is there a chance of something going awry? Yea. Always is. But the complete lack of acknowledgement on here when a cop finally gets fired and charged with felonies doesn't surprise me at all.

What I would like to know is where is the public outrage, where is Sharpton, or Jackson in all of this, why are they not down there trying to get the officer put into prison for this?

it is sad, and hopefully justice will prevail, and ultimately show that it does not matter if one is a police officer or not, that the law applies to everyone in this case. I think that the public should be outraged over this and demand justice for the child, and that the officer has time to think while sitting behind bars and in a cell, and that his fellow officers look at him with contempt and pity for violating the public trust.

a reply to: sdcigarpig

Agreed. I couldn't recall hearing one word about this anywhere till it was put up on ats. Curious, that

originally posted by: Shamrock6
a reply to: Aazadan

I don't think handcuffing a child to a pole, beating them, tasing them, all while wearing a uniform and being off duty is a result of training.

It's the result of being a d-bag with a badge. It's a result of being a jackbag. It's a result of not being a good person in any sense of the word. This particular waste of air happened to be a cop.

My point remains: all too often here we see people screaming about a cop doing something and the "thin blue line" closing ranks. Seems to me the SO got rid of him as fast as they could. The SO is the one that sought, and brought, the charges. Is he convicted yet? No, it's ongoing. Is there a chance of something going awry? Yea. Always is. But the complete lack of acknowledgement on here when a cop finally gets fired and charged with felonies doesn't surprise me at all.

At my previous job working at a community college, between classes I would hang out by the law enforcement classes section. Sometimes I would listen from out of the room, others I would sit in the class and listen. You're right, they don't teach you to handcuff someone to a pole and beat them, but they do teach the idea of detaining a person following the idea of threat neutralization. Which means anyone detained is a threat, the cop then needs to take additional actions to make sure they aren't a threat. Such as handcuffs and putting them in the mobile jail cell (back of a squad car), or as this cop did, handcuffing the person to an object.

The reason cops act this way is because we have trained them to be afraid of literally every single thing. Use force to remove the slightest doubt as to your safety regardless of the well being of the other person involved. These aren't all bad ideas but violent interactions against the police happen at less than 1/2 the rate of the national average. It is more dangerous to be a cashier in a TCBY in the middle of a mall than it is to be a cop. The police rate is astounding actually considering the realities of their job.

I'm not saying I want to see cops in bodybags, but I think we've taken it a bit too far. Total security requires total restraint, but as a person who hasn't yet been found guilty of a crime, why can total restraint be brought against you?

As far as beatings go, that's the preferred method these days for discouraging actions. Not rational thought. I once had an encounter with a cop, he pulled me over for "driving suspiciously", said he smelled alcohol on my breath (I never drink), brought me to the back of his car for a breathalyzer. I blew a 0.0, so he took it on himself to teach me a lesson of which one of us was in the right. That involved a few baton hits, kicks in the stomach, and so on. Eventually he got tired of it and left without even giving me a ticket. Once I got up and was able to enjoy the aftermath of my roadside beating, I went home. That part is just typical cop behavior. Thugs with badges.

originally posted by: Aazadan

originally posted by: Shamrock6
a reply to: Aazadan

I don't think handcuffing a child to a pole, beating them, tasing them, all while wearing a uniform and being off duty is a result of training.

It's the result of being a d-bag with a badge. It's a result of being a jackbag. It's a result of not being a good person in any sense of the word. This particular waste of air happened to be a cop.

My point remains: all too often here we see people screaming about a cop doing something and the "thin blue line" closing ranks. Seems to me the SO got rid of him as fast as they could. The SO is the one that sought, and brought, the charges. Is he convicted yet? No, it's ongoing. Is there a chance of something going awry? Yea. Always is. But the complete lack of acknowledgement on here when a cop finally gets fired and charged with felonies doesn't surprise me at all.

At my previous job working at a community college, between classes I would hang out by the law enforcement classes section. Sometimes I would listen from out of the room, others I would sit in the class and listen. You're right, they don't teach you to handcuff someone to a pole and beat them, but they do teach the idea of detaining a person following the idea of threat neutralization. Which means anyone detained is a threat, the cop then needs to take additional actions to make sure they aren't a threat. Such as handcuffs and putting them in the mobile jail cell (back of a squad car), or as this cop did, handcuffing the person to an object.

The reason cops act this way is because we have trained them to be afraid of literally every single thing. Use force to remove the slightest doubt as to your safety regardless of the well being of the other person involved. These aren't all bad ideas but violent interactions against the police happen at less than 1/2 the rate of the national average. It is more dangerous to be a cashier in a TCBY in the middle of a mall than it is to be a cop. The police rate is astounding actually considering the realities of their job.

I'm not saying I want to see cops in bodybags, but I think we've taken it a bit too far. Total security requires total restraint, but as a person who hasn't yet been found guilty of a crime, why can total restraint be brought against you?

As far as beatings go, that's the preferred method these days for discouraging actions. Not rational thought. I once had an encounter with a cop, he pulled me over for "driving suspiciously", said he smelled alcohol on my breath (I never drink), brought me to the back of his car for a breathalyzer. I blew a 0.0, so he took it on himself to teach me a lesson of which one of us was in the right. That involved a few baton hits, kicks in the stomach, and so on. Eventually he got tired of it and left without even giving me a ticket. Once I got up and was able to enjoy the aftermath of my roadside beating, I went home. That part is just typical cop behavior. Thugs with badges.

I'm sorry you had to experience that. Was this before dashcam video? Were you able to sue him?

2nd

a reply to: Aazadan

Weird. I haven't seen any studies on the fatality rates of tcby cashiers. Then again I haven't seen a tcby in God knows how many years.

It sounds as if you're supposing this guy did what he did because he was scared? Yea, doubt it. It's really amazing what you suggest is typical behavior, yet seems to be the minority.

My car died on the way home from a friends house. Had to pull over and wait for my sweet mommy to get out of bed and come get me. A cop pulled up to see what I was doing, and luckily for me smelled the beer that another friend had spilled on my car when he was outside smoking. Next thing I know there's 5 cops on the street and im taking a breathalyzer. I blow zeros. Cop says thanks for being honest with us, I'll hang out till your mom gets here.

A week later the same cop pulls me over again because they saw my plates on a new car, and wanted to make sure nobody had jacked my plates.

No beatings. No attitude. No posturing.

originally posted by: Shamrock6

No beatings. No attitude. No posturing.

Could it be because you're a cop yourself?

a reply to: IslandOfMisfitToys

Since it was before I was a cop, I doubt it.

a reply to: Shamrock6

Were you considering being a cop at that point? I find it highly suspicious that a cop would just pull you over when all he had to do was look to see who and what vehicle that plate belonged to. Most people don't get that sort of preferential treatment.

Was this in Mayberry USA by chance? Are you not a minority by chance?

I'd bet my next year salary that at least one of the answers to those questions are a yes.

a reply to: IslandOfMisfitToys

I started "considering" being a cop when I was 8 or so, so what's that have to do with anything?

Yea I'm white. It was in a predominantly white and hispanic area. With courts that are full of predominantly white and hispanic people. And still are. So if we're going to try and play the race card, why'd I end up with so many units at a possible dui for a little white boy? Certainly not because I was DWB.

Not sure why getting pulled over while doing nothing wrong strikes you as preferential treatment. The officer COULD have run my plates. They WOULD have seen the tags belonged on the car. But no, they pulled me over for "a check." Yea, that reeks of preferential treatment

a reply to: Anyafaj

So is it "abuse" when they're a minor and "assault" when they're adults? He didn't get abused, he got assaulted. Interesting that because he's 12 they call it abuse but whatever.

Saying "unruly" might come across wrongly, it sounds like the whole interaction between the kid and wannabe boxer, the kid was fine.

And the mom couldn't do her job as a parent...big fail right there. Let me guess, obviously no dad? Pathetic.

Another unbelieveable news report coming out of the wonderful South.

They just arent right down there. I used to live there.

originally posted by: DenyTreason
Another unbelieveable news report coming out of the wonderful South.

They just arent right down there. I used to live there.

What an ignorant comment. This stuff NEVER happens up north, does it?

originally posted by: Anyafaj
I'm sorry you had to experience that. Was this before dashcam video? Were you able to sue him?

I have no idea if there was dashcam video. The cop took me around to the back of his car so as far as I know I was off camera. Even if not though, I didn't try to follow up on it with a police department officer. I tried one day but was too scared to walk into the police station. I never got the officers name/badge number.

originally posted by: Shamrock6
Weird. I haven't seen any studies on the fatality rates of tcby cashiers. Then again I haven't seen a tcby in God knows how many years.

Perhaps it's a bad business example, I don't get out much, I thought they were still around. The point I was trying to make was that police fatality rates per 100,000 are extremely low. You would think that given their job duties they would be high but being a police officer is one of the safest jobs in the entire country. Police officers enjoy a level of safety on the job going by their deaths per 100,000 that is much better than most other professions. They aren't loggers or linemen, even most retail clerk positions are more dangerous than being a police officer.

It sounds as if you're supposing this guy did what he did because he was scared? Yea, doubt it. It's really amazing what you suggest is typical behavior, yet seems to be the minority.

Scared? No. Just a little too firm in the belief that inflicting pain on someone is a good way to make them listen to you. Throw in a bit of a power trip, and training to be absolutely sure the target isn't a threat and you get an incident like this.