Woman Fell Out of Moving Patrol Vehicle and Died Because GA Deputies Failed to Close Door, Report Says

A woman who fell out of a Georgia deputy’s patrol vehicle and died July 15 fell out of a vehicle door that was not properly closed, according to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation report.

“GBI agents have concluded that the rear passenger side door of the patrol car, near where Brianna Grier, 28, was sitting, was never closed. Agents conducted numerous interviews, reviewed multiple body camera videos, and conducted exhaustive mechanical tests on the patrol car. Automotive experts and the Georgia State Patrol also assisted with tests to determine if there were possible mechanical malfunctions. In conjunction with these investigative acts, GBI agents concluded that Grier was placed in the backseat of the patrol car, handcuffed in the front of her body with no seatbelt," the GBI said in a report .

Grier was reportedly passively resisting arrest by Hancock County Sheriff’s deputies immediately before the in-custody death incident. “Grier was on the ground refusing to get in the patrol car. Grier made a statement that she was going to harm herself. To put Grier in the patrol car, one of the deputies walked around and opened the rear passenger side door,” the GBI says. 

The report says the deputies closed the rear driver’s side door but did not properly close the rear passenger side door.

After the deputies drove a short distance, the handcuffed woman fell out of the vehicle.