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Ga. University Settles Civil Suit After Officer Resigns

Frederick Gibbons said he refused to plead guilty to the obstruction of a law enforcement officer charge because of how badly the public is treated by university police.

December 10, 2015 CS Staff

Augusta University in Georgia has settled a civil lawsuit with a man who was Tased by a university police officer in 2012.

Frederick Gibbons brought the lawsuit after he was Tased five times by former university police officer Wesley Martin during a traffic stop.

The settlement is for an undisclosed six-figure amount and the university did not admit any liability as part of the agreement, according to chronicle.augusta.com.

Gibbons was initially charged with obstruction of a law enforcement officer but was acquitted of that by a Richmond County Superior Court in 2013.

Martin resigned from the police force in Oct. after being accused of sexual harassment, but was also found to have used his stun gun more than twice as often as any other Augusta University police officers. Martin also shot a student in the face in 2014 who he claimed tried to run him over and a man during a traffic stop in 2013 who Martin says ran over his foot. Martin was never disciplined for use of force.

Augusta State University’s public safety director and police chief retired in June during an internal investigation.

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