Heads, you go to jail. Tails, you get a ticket and are sent on your way.
Those were the coin-toss options two Roswell police officers used when deciding whether to arrest Sarah Webb during an April traffic stop on East Crossville and Crabapple roads, body camera footage obtained by AJC.com showed.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Now, the two officers — Courtney Brown and Kristee Wilson — are on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation, according to Roswell police Chief Rusty Grant.
“This behavior is not indicative of the hard-working officers of the Roswell Police Department,” Grant said in a statement Friday. “I have much higher expectations of our police officers, and I am appalled that any law enforcement officer would trivialize the decision-making process of something as important as the arrest of a person.”
Grant told Channel 2 Action News he learned about the incident just before the July 4 holiday. He said he could not discuss the details since it was an open investigation.
Webb was cited for reckless driving, too fast for conditions and speeding. The case was dismissed earlier this week, according to Channel 2.
The ordeal began when Brown pulled Webb over for speeding in her black Mercury Sable, according to a police report obtained by AJC.com. Webb explained she was running late for her job at a hair salon in Duluth.
In the body camera video, Webb sobs as Brown berates her for speeding on the wet road and "risk(ing) people's lives."
Brown takes Webb’s licence, but when she discovers her radar gun wasn’t working and is unable to perform a check of the licence, she calls for backup, the video shows. She later consults with Wilson, who is heard off-camera saying “‘a’ for heads and ‘r’ for tails,” and using the coin-toss app.
The coin lands on tails for release, Brown confirmed, but Webb was arrested anyway.
The police report makes no mention of the coin-toss app being used to determine the arrest. The report also doesn’t mention that Brown told Wilson her radar gun was not working.
Brown detailed in the report she had to reach roughly 88 mph to catch up to Webb before they stopped at Bent Grass and East Crossville roads. After the confrontation, according to the report, Brown then asked Webb to step out of the car and place her hands behind her back.
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