Two Georgia police officers who were caught on video flipping a coin to determine whether or not to arrest a woman have been fired.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr , Roswell police officers Kristee Wilson and Courtney Brown were placed on leave in mid-July after footage of the April incident became public via Atlanta TV station WXIA-TV.
At the time of the inident, Wilson and Brown had pulled over Sarah Webb for speeding. The two officers, however, found themselves in a conundrum: Wilson was heard on video saying she didn’t have any tickets on her, while Brown said that she didn’t have the necessary speed-detecting equipment. They also discussed the possibility of tacking on a charge of reckless driving, due to the fact that the pavement was wet.
Webb, who allegedly admitted that she was speeding because she was running late for work, was in the back of the patrol car, crying, while the two cops discussed what to do next. According to the video, the two decided to turn the matter over to fate. They used a coin-flipping app.
Wilson: “A (arrest) head, R (release) tail.”
Brown: “OK (sound of coin flip) laugh.”
Wilson: “This is tail right?”
Brown: “Yeah. So release?”
Wilson: “23 (code for arrest).”
Brown: “Michael Jordan? (laugh). Alright, so I’ve got too fast (laugh) for conditions, reckless.”
The app came up A, for arrest, and Webb – who had no idea her fate was being turned over to a cell phone app – was taken downtown.
You can see the event in the video below.
As it turns out, Webb didn’t even learn about the coin flip until WXIA-TV investigators contacted her. When she found out about it, according to Fox News , she said she was “disgusted” that the two cops “put my freedom in the hands of a coin flip.”
Charges against Webb were later dropped.
Once WXIA-TV began asking the Roswell police about the video, the two officers were placed on administrative leave. Now, they are without jobs.
Roswell officers Courtney Brown and Kristee Wilson have been fired after tossing a coin to decide whether to arrest a speeding driver. Why a city official is criticizing the entire department. New at 11 on @cbs46! pic.twitter.com/2wKI91Eikg
— Hayley Mason (@HayleyMasonTV) July 27, 2018
According to a companion WXIA-TV report, Roswell Police Chief Rusty Grant sent termination letters to the two women, detailing that his investigation had found that they had violated department policies and were being let go. Those violations included actions against duty regarding conduct and conduct unbecoming an officer, whether on-duty or off-duty.
Both women have five days to appeal their firings. It is not clear, as of this writing, if either of them has appealed or plans to appeal.
