Just when you think that some cops couldn’t get any grimier, some Roswell, Ga., officers are here to show and prove that that’s not the case.
News station 11 Alive investigators uncovered body camera footage that showed officers deciding whether or not to arrest a young, female driver for allegedly speeding based on a coin toss using an app on a phone.
The incident began in April when Sarah Webb was pulled over. The young woman readily acknowledged that she had been going fast, noting that she was late for work.
Officer Courtney Brown tagged her for speeding and also referenced reckless driving as the roads were wet, but then Brown went back to ask her fellow officers what should be done.
“What do you think?” another responding officer, Kristee Wilson, could be heard saying on the footage.
Brown noted that she didn’t have speed detection on her, while another officer pointed out that she didn’t have any tickets. Brown then opened her phone to a coin flip app.
Wilson could be heard encouraging Brown, saying “A head, R tail,” using the first letters for “arrest” and “release.”
“OK,” Brown responds while laughing. In the background, the sound of a coin being tossed from the app could be heard.
“This is tail right?” Wilson asked.
“Yeah, so release?” Brown responded.
“Twenty-three,” Wilson says, using the code for arrest.
“Michael Jordan,” Brown responds laughing, using another code for arrest. “Alright, So I’ve got too fast for conditions, reckless.”
Brown goes back to Webb’s car and takes her into custody. The young woman could be seen sitting in the back of the police car sobbing as she’s taken to jail, not even knowing that her fate rested in a coin toss.
Webb didn’t know about the coin toss till 11 Alive investigators told her.
“Wow, these people put my freedom in the hands of a coin flip,” she said to the news station. “And that’s disgusting.”
On Monday, Webb’s charges were officially thrown out after a prosecutor dismissed the case after seeing the sickening footage.
“She said, ‘I have watched the videos and I absolutely refuse to prosecute this case,’” Webb said.
As for the officers, they were forced to turn in their guns and badges, but this didn’t happen until after 11 Alive started asking questions two months after the incident occurred. Currently, an internal affairs investigation is in progress.