The mayor of Roswell is speaking out for the first time since video of two police officers flipping a virtual coin to decide whether to arrest a woman surfaced last week.
“Like you, I am shocked and offended by their actions,” Mayor Lori Henry said in statement posted on her Facebook page. “I find the behavior of these two officers inexcusable and unprofessional. This type of behavior is not and should not be reflective of our police officers in Roswell who protect and serve our community every day.”
In body camera footage obtained by AJC.com, officers Courtney Brown and Kristee Wilson are heard discussing a coin-toss app after Brown pulled Sarah Webb over for speeding.
They gave Webb two outcomes: heads, and Webb would go to jail. Tails, and she would get a ticket and be sent her on her way.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
“Behavior like this makes a hard job even harder for our professional officers,” Henry said in the Facebook statement. “However, the citizens of Roswell and I trust and honor our protectors and this will not interfere with our respect for the rest of our police department. I ask the citizens of Roswell to support and respect the badge of the Roswell Police Department.”
Webb was pulled over April 7 at Bent Grass and East Crossville roads for speeding in her black Mercury Sable, according to a police report obtained by AJC.com.
Webb explained in the video she was running late for her job at a hair salon in Duluth. It was raining, and Brown berated the woman for speeding on wet roads and “risk(ing) people’s lives.”
Brown is heard consulting with Wilson off-camera, saying her radar gun wasn’t working and she was unable to perform a check of Webb’s license.
Wilson suggests the coin-toss app, saying, “‘a’ for heads and ‘r’ for tails.”
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The coin landed on tails, for release, Brown confirmed in the video. But Webb was arrested anyway on charges of reckless driving, too fast for conditions and speeding. The case was dismissed last week, AJC.com previously reported.
The officers are on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
“I want to assure our residents that I expect our police officers to adhere to the highest professional standards in their work and that the actions of these two officers are unacceptable to me and will not be tolerated by the City of Roswell,” Henry said.
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