Police Complaint

I have just not been feeling very inspired about personal blogging lately. I'll get back into it soon, I promise... this is the latest occurrence I've felt inspired to write about. It just happened today. I'm still steamed!

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Email sent to Burrell Ellis, CEO of Dekalb County:

Hello,

I was driving down North Decatur Road (on the stretch where it crosses under I-285) this Sunday afternoon when I noticed a turtle crossing the road. There weren't a lot of cars on the road, so I decided to stop and help the turtle before it got run over.

I turned around, drove back to where the turtle was, stopped my car, put on the hazard lights and quickly stepped out. I was planning on taking the turtle to the other side of the road and then jumping back in my car. Just when I stepped out of my car, a police car happened to come up behind me, and turned on the siren... I pointed to the turtle I was picking up. The police officer screamed at me "GET THE FRIG OFF THE ROAD" over his loudspeaker. I put down the turtle a couple feet away on the side of the road and got back in my car. I was too scared of the police officer to actually take the turtle to the other side of the road, so the turtle probably tried to cross again later and got run over.

I was really upset by the officer's rudeness. I understand that given the terrible crime problems that Dekalb County faces, the fate of a turtle is not very important. However, a police officer with such a short temper that the sight of a car stopped for a turtle causes him to freak out and curse... this kind of behavior is very unprofessional and ineffective. I understand you have done a lot of work to fix up the police department mess that Vernon Jones and Terrell Bolton left. I just hope that future police training will also include lessons on how not to alienate the people they are supposed to protect. Thank you for considering my perspective.

Regards,
____

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Edited to Add: I just drove to work today along that same stretch. I kept my eye out for a horrible bloody stain on the road, but didn't see anything. So I guess the turtle made it!