A woman was arrested after borrowing a probation officer’s badge and gun to get free snacks at a Gwinnett County QuikTrip, police said.
A Gwinnett officer spotted 33-year-old Pektra LaQuiche Edgerton using the badge to get free food at the Duluth gas station last week, Channel 2 Action News reported. It’s common for businesses to offer discounts to law enforcement officers, but something about Edgerton’s actions made Officer J.T. Smith suspicious.
Authorities said Brandi Green, who worked for the Department of Community Supervision, gave Edgerton her badge and gun when she went into the store.
When Smith pulled over Edgerton moments later, she was still wearing the badge around her neck, according to body camera footage obtained by Channel 2.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
“Did you stop me because my brake light is out or did you stop me to ask me who I work for?” Edgerton can be heard asking the officer.
“Are you a police officer or are you not a police officer?” Smith responds.
“So because a black person walks into a store with a badge and a gun, it’s an issue,” Edgerton said.
The officer tells the woman the traffic stop has nothing to do with the color of her skin and she eventually admits to him she isn’t a cop.
“So why would you go into QuikTrip and get free food with your badge and gun?” Smith asks.
He then turned his attention to Green, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
A spokesman for DCS told the news station that Green was suspended after the agency was made aware of the incident. She later resigned after being told an internal investigation was underway, according to Channel 2.
“After Ms. Green was made aware of the forthcoming investigation, she resigned on the same day,” DCS said in a statement.
Edgerton was arrested on a felony impersonating an officer charge, Gwinnett jail records show. She also faces a moving violation for missing a brake light. She was released the day of her arrest after posting a $4,146 bond.
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