GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A former Gwinnett County officer's ex-partner will continue testimony against him this morning, in a trial stemming from a 2017 incident in which the officer, Robert McDonald, was captured on video stomping a man cuffed and on the ground in the head.
Michael Bongiovanni stopped Demetrius Hollins in April 2017 for not having a license plate on his car, according to an incident report from the time. As the young man stood with his hands up, video captured Bongiovanni hitting him and taking him to the ground before cuffing him.
RELATED: An officer stomped a man's head into the ground. Now his former partner will testify against him.
A moment later, as Hollins angled backward to look at Bongiovanni, video shows McDonald ran up to him and stomped his head into the ground.
McDonald faces aggravated assault and battery charges, as well as a felony violation of oath by public officer charge. A conviction on all three charges and a max sentence would send him to prison for 26 years.
Bongiovanni, who was also McDonald's supervisor, is testifying against him as part of a plea agreement reached last year that will see him avoid jail time.
He began that testimony on Tuesday.
Bongiovanni's testimony comes after several people who said they witnessed what happened took the stand Monday.
One witness described seeing what she called an animated conversation between an officer and the driver.
Another witness said before the driver was hit, he spotted an officer tase the man.
A third witness said she then spotted another officer - who was identified as McDonald - running up as the driver laid on the ground with handcuffs on.
"The victim that was handcuffed was facing me, so I could see his face and the officer comes running down and slams his foot into the side of the victim's face, then proceeds to kneel on him, pulled out his gun stuck it to the side temple of his face and I could hear him basically say don't move or I'm going to shoot," Anna Eubank said.
Prosecutors asked the witness if the handcuffed man - while on the ground - tried to hit or kick anyone, but she said no.
The attorney for Hollins, Justin Miller, told 11Alive's Hope Ford last summer they were disappointed not to see any jail time but looked ahead to the case against McDonald.
"He has to help with the conviction of his partner which is real good," Miller said last summer.
The lawyer said at the time he hoped McDonald will see jail time, as he believes his conduct was "just as, if not more, egregious than Bongiovanni's."
The incident report described a distressed Hollins who acted "strange" and started yelling "I need to call my mom" and "you have to let me go."
As he became more agitated during the stop, which was initiated because there was a white piece of cardboard where a plate should have been, Bongiovanni began to arrest him.
Photos later showed the deep cuts to Hollins' nose and lip McDonald's stomping left.
“What I viewed last night was disturbing to me and disturbing to others,” then-Gwinnett Police Chief Butch Ayers said in 2017. “What happened last night involving the officer last night was embarrassing to the Gwinnett County Police and other law enforcement.”
Last summer, Harris' attorney Miller described the lasting impact of the incident.
“(He) has a lot of problems in his relationships - with his family, finding and keeping jobs," he said. "People recognize him for all the wrong reasons.”
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