Canadian arrested in Georgia

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-woman-arrested-jailed-in-u-s-for-driving-with-a-canadian-licence-1.4648561

Ontario woman arrested, jailed in U.S. for driving with aCanadian licence
An Ontario woman says she wants the Georgia police officer who arrested, handcuffed and charged her because she had a Canadian driver’s licence, to be held accountable.
‘It was the most horrendous incident of my life,’ says27-year-old grad student

Makda Ghebreslassie · CBC News · Posted: May 07, 2018 4:00AM ET | Last Updated: 36 minutes ago

Emily Nield says a Georgia police officer arrested her for driving with an Ontario licence in the U.S. (Richard Agecoutay/CBC)
An Ontario woman is looking for an apology from the Georgia police officer who arrested, handcuffed and charged her because she wasdriving with a Canadian licence.
"It was the most horrendous incident of my life,"said Emily Nield. “It was mortifying. I was terrified the entiretime.”
About a month ago, the 27-year-old was driving through Georgia to Tennessee, where she had just completed amaster’s degree in geology. Nield’s route took her along the I-75, which isoften used by Canadians making the trek to and from Florida.
Canadian driver’s licences valid in Florida, after all
That’s where she was pulled over for speeding, and the officer asked to see her licence. Nield handed over her Ontario driver’s licence, but wasn’t prepared for the officer’s reaction.
“She kept saying, ‘No, Canadian licences are notaccepted,’” said Nield. “I was flabbergasted. I just kept saying this can’t be right — a Canadian licence is always valid.”
Nield told CBC Toronto she was then asked to prove she was Canadian and although she had copies of her passport, Nexus card,and birth certificate on her phone, the officer wanted to see an original hard copy.
I was flabbergasted. I just kept saying this can’t be right — a Canadian licence is always valid.- Emily Nield
“When I failed to produce it, she reached through the window of my car and she put handcuffs on me,” said Nield.
“She told me that I have just been arrested for driving without a licence and that I needed to go to jail.”
In the back of the officer’s cruiser Nield managed to take a video on her cell phone and send it to friends on Snap Chat.
Emily Nield was pulled over for speeding in Georgia, but she wasn’t prepared for the officer’s reaction. She was arrested for driving with an Ontario driver’s license. While cuffed in the back of the police cruiser,she managed to take a video on her cellphone and send it to friends. 0:42
“I’m in cuffs. Help me! I don’t want to go to jail,” she says in the video as she breaks down in tears.
‘I never committed a crime’
At the police station Nield was charged with driving with outa licence and speeding, for doing 87 m.p.h. in a 70 m.p.h. zone.
Police took her mugshot and finger printed her.
“They kept saying ‘You’re now in the system. Any crime that’s going to be committed, your fingerprints are going to be searched,’” said Nield. “I never committed a crime.”
One of her friends was able to determine her location in Adel, through a feature on SnapChat, and called the sheriff’ soffice in Cooks County, Ga.
Nield said she was permitted to speak to her friend, but her requests to speak to the Canadian Consulate or her parents went unanswered.
Paid $880 to get out of jail
She said police told her she would remain in jail until her court appearance on June 12, unless she paid an $880 US bond in cash, which she didn’t have.
Eventually she was allowed to use her debit card and post her own bail. Nield said she also had to pay $200 to remove her car from the impound.
American shakedown: Police won’t charge you, but they’ll grab your money
She stayed in the States while trying to get the charges dismissed and the arrest expunged, with the help of a friend’s father, who is a lawyer in Virginia, and the Canadian Consulate.
“I just kept thinking this would ruin me,” Nield told CBC Toronto. “Any job application you have to check a box. Are you a criminal? Have you ever been convicted or arrested for anything?”

Emily Nield is now at home with her parents in Kleinburg,Ont., but says she will still have to make another trip back to the U.S. topick up her vehicle. (Richard Agecoutay/CBC)
According to the Georgia Department of Driver Services website, “non-U.S. citizens holding a valid foreign driver’s licence are allowed to drive in the state of Georgia.”
The website goes on to explain “in the case of a driver licence issued by the driver’s licensing authority of a foreign country, a law officer may consult a person’s passport or visa to verify the validity of such licence, if available.”
Charges dismissed
Three days after Nield’s arrest, Matthew Bennett, theCooks County probate court solicitor, agreed the charges should be dismissed and the judge signed off on it.
“I just felt like it probably became a bigger deal than it should have been considering that she was here studying — no prior trouble,” said Bennett.
He said the court, in consultation with Nield’s attorney, is taking measures to erase her arrest record. As of last week, he estimated itcould take another couple of weeks to do so.
Make sure that you have your passport or supporting documents along with your driver’s licence. - Matthew Bennett, Cooks County Probate Court solicitor
In the meantime he has some advice forCanadian drivers.
“Make sure that you have your passport or supporting documents along with your driver’s licence,” said Bennett. “I know I would if I was in a foreign country.”
Know the law
Nield said she had copies of those on her phone,but doesn’t believe it would have made a difference if she had carried the originals, because the officer believed a Canadian driver’s licence was invalid.
“If you’re a police officer you should know your laws, especially the I-75 people going north,” said Nield. “There are so many snowbirds, and Canadians drive to Florida all the time for vacation.”
After finding out her arrest would be cleared from the system, Nield said she “cried with joy,” and last week she flew back to Canada.
Right now Nield is at home with her parents in Kleinburg, Ont., but she said she will still have to make another trip back tothe U.S. to pick up her vehicle.
In the mean time, she wants the Cooks County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia to be held accountable, so it doesn’t happen again.
“At least with the officer who arrested me, I would love to see a formal reprimand,” said Nield. “That way she can learn that this is not right — an apology is what I would love the most.”
CBC Toronto has reached out to the Cooks County Sheriff’s Office several times but has yet to hear back.

I would have locked her a s s up for doing 17mph over the speed limit!! In most states, anything over 11mph and you’re at the mercy of the courts!

Looks to me like you have not driven on I-75 .

And that’s the attitude that gets you locked up for speeding in the USA!

They drive a lot faster than that on I-75. That cop should be fired.

All you Canadian please speed through North Florida and Georgia. We’re trying to build a new pool hall. We need all the revenue we can get.
Hint! If the speed limit says 70 please do 90.

Oh yes Yankees are included in it.

Incompetent and overbearing police officer. And some people think these are the only folks who should be permitted to carry firearms…

I think this police man just lacked proper training .

I think it was a policewoman. Lack of training = incompetent. Grossly incompetent in this case. If it was a training issue, you would expect similar instances with other officers. The content of the exchange = overzealous or overbearing. The person is in the wrong field. If you are going to assume responsibility for denying a person their freedom (i.e., toss them in jail), you damn well better know your job. She should sue for false arrest and imprisonment.

LOL I drive the speed limit on 75 , People blow by me including police like i am sitting still. How ever we have a special place for those from Florida , we just tow them to the swamp to make them feel at home .

Looks like the good old USA is going back to the 1960’s.

TN legislators pass bill aimed at stopping small-town speed traps.
CORNERSVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
Small towns can be notorious for speed traps. And when their jurisdictions covers a slice of interstate, it can be a gold mine.

Now, a bill meant to shut down small-town traffic enforcement on the interstate is on its way to Gov. Bill Haslam, while the leader of one town targeted by the legislation says they’re just enforcing state law.

In Cornersville, TN, when officers are not at headquarters filling out paperwork, you can often find them on Interstate 65, looking for speeders and other traffic violators.

According to a state comptroller audit, the small town of 1,000 people, with roughly 200 homes, got about 50 percent of its revenue - nearly $250,000 - from traffic citations, fines and fees.

I75 dead or alive we will get your canadian and yankee money…
Please speed through our town…

Hey how else we going to pay for moonshine

I love the south and the Americans but I am not wanting to pay and fines . great yard sales love them all.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/u-s-county-tries-to-reassure-canadian-visitors-after-story-of-ontario-woman-s-arrest-makes-headlines-1.4654432?cmp=news-digests-toronto

U.S. county tries to reassureCanadian visitors after story of Ontario woman’s arrest makes headlines
A county in Georgia is taking steps to reassure Canadians they’ll be treated with respect when they visit, after an Ontario woman who was pulled over for speeding was handcuffed and put behind bars.
Responsefollows CBC Toronto story of Emily Nield, arrested in Georgia for driving with an Ontario licence
‘Those handcuffs, I still remember them being on me because they were tight,’ says Emily Nield, 27. (Richard Agecoutay/CBC)
A county in Georgia is taking steps to reassure Canadians they’ll be treated with respect when they visit, after an Ontario woman who was pulled over for speeding was handcuffed and put behindbars.
On Monday, CBC Toronto broke the story of Emily Nield,who was stopped in Cook County. When Nield showed her driver’s licence to the police officer, she was arrested for driving with an Ontario licence.

Shortly after filming herself in the back of a police cruiser in handcuffs, Nield was taken to a police station and charged with both driving without a licence and for doing 87 m.p.h. in a 70 m.p.h.zone. She was finger printed and a mug shot was taken.
Her story made international headlines.
The county’s office contends Interstate 75 brings nearly a million travellers through the area each month and that law enforcement officers regularly come across cases of identity theft. While non-U.S. citizens with a valid foreign driver’s licence are allowed to drive in Georgia, law enforcement officers can consult a person’s passport or visa to verify its validity.
Nield didn’t have original documents with her and had only copies on her phone. And according to Nield, the officer didn’t recognize the validity of her licence. “She kept saying, ‘No,Canadian licences are not accepted,’” said Nield. “I was flabbergasted.”
’Georgia is open for business’

Officials in Cook County have issued a news release saying they’d met with Canadian Consul General Nadia Theodore “to discuss how the parties could move forward.”
The meeting, which focused on best practices for law enforcement officers and Canadian citizens visiting Georgia, came at the behest of Theodore, there lease said.

Nield says a Georgia police officer arrested her for driving with an Ontario licence in the U.S. (RichardAgecoutay/CBC)
“As a result of the meeting, Cook County officials assured Canadian travellers that Georgia is open for business, their citizens would be treated with respect, due process would be afforded to its citizens,and any non-citizen who is arrested would be able to contact their regional consulate,” it said.
Nield said she was told by police that she would remain in jail until her court appearance on June 12, unless she paid an $880 US bond in cash, which she didn’t have.
That’s something the Cook County Sheriff’s Office denied.
“That is not correct,” it said in a statement late Monday. “Georgia law states that any individual who is arrested on anon-warrant is entitled to a first appearance hearing to be advised of their rights and bond within 48 hours of arrest.”
’Citizenswill be treated with respect and dignity’

Three days after her arrest, the county solicitor agreed that her charges should be dismissed. With Nield in Georgia studying and her having no prior run-ins with the law, the court is taking steps to erase her arrest record.
“The men and women of my office are dedicated public servants,” Sheriff Douglas Hanks said in Tuesday’s statement.
“As I explained to Consul General Theodore, her citizens will be treated with respect and dignity and will be treated no different than that of Americans or any other person whom we come into contact with.”

Fvck you. Crawl back in your cave. It was one cop who acted badly.

[size=2]I say under a rock!
So detached from reality even referenced a different state than what the subject is.
OK, I can say DUMB stuff like that also… how about:
“I have new socks on today”
[/size]

? Fvck you. Crawl back in your cave?

Traffic tickets: Some cities use interstates as cash registers.
Shame on you.
Open your eyes.

Unfortunately, you have digressed from the subject at hand. “Canadian arrested in Georgia.”

It is unfortunate, but this type of speed ticket taxing for some Georgia counties continues.

Chuck, it was not aimed at you personally. Please, try to be civil during posts on the Canadian section. As Canadians, we are most tolerant.

You don’t like the way you’re treated here? STAY THE FRUCK HOME!!!