Articles Posted in Police

Charges of disorderly conduct were recently dropped by a judge in Cobb County Georgia in a case involving a woman who said “F— the police” and “police suck” as she rode her bicycle past two officers questioning a burglary suspect. The officers abandoned the burglary investigation and arrested the woman. She was charged under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-39(a)(4) which bars “without provocation” the use of “obscene and vulgar language in the presence of a person under the age of 14 years which threatens an immediate breach of the peace.”

The judge found that even though the police testified a child was present, the woman’s words were not fighting words. “the police cannot arrest someone for disrespecting them by the use of a curse word.”

Even though cursing at the police in this specific scenario was not against the law, I would NEVER recommend that you do such a thing. Even though the woman’s charges were dropped, she spent 23 hours in jail with 6 in solitary confinement. She also had to hire a lawyer and stress out for a year until her case was heard.
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You got arrested for DUI. You pick up your arrest report from the police department. As you read through the report you can’t believe it what you are reading. You are in shock. Thats not what happened. The officer is lying! What do you do?

Most police officers are honest hardworking individuals just like you and me. As in every profession, there are bad apples. Most arrest reports are relatively accurate. Some contain exaggerated facts. Some are completely false. They contain language that bolsters the officers case in an attempt to secure a conviction.

The New York Times published an article about a decorated corporal who was doing just this. She was accused of falsifying dozens of arrest over a decade. She accused and arrested many drivers of DUI who were not impaired drivers. Many didn’t even drink alcohol. Others were arrested for driving under the influence of drugs but blood tests revealed no drugs in their system. 20 cases alleging marijuana impairment revealed no presence of marijuana in their system.

A group of lawyers filed lawsuits suing the corporal and the highway patrol. Prosecutors were dropping cases made by the officer because of the allegations.

I have personally seen reports that an officer submitted where he merely changed the accused’s name, date of birth, address, and identifying information and then submitted the identical arrest report. Those cases were dismissed. I also see many reports that contain “canned language”. This occurs a lot in DUI arrest reports.

See below for the link to the complete article. If you have been arrested in the State of Georgia and you believe that you have been falsely accused of a crime, its imperative that you contact an attorney as soon as possible to discuss your case.
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