61 Year Old Woman Arrested For Asking "Why".

Atlanta News 1:06 p.m. Thursday, February 18, 2010


By Rhonda Cook

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Four women, two of them well into middle age, were discussing funeral plans for a friend when an Atlanta police officer told them to move.

Three did but one asked “why.” In answer to her question, Minnie Carey, then 61, was handcuffed, put into a police wagon and taken to jail, where she was held for nine hours.

The Citizen Review Board found that Atlanta Police officer Brandy Dolson had violated APD policies and had falsely arrested Carey.

“I was blown away,” Carey told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I had heard about people in the community being harassed by the police … It really didn’t shock me as much as it probably would have if I had not heard of people going to jail for no reason. I figured I was just another one.

“But I had the right to ask ‘why' I had to move,” she said.

The Citizen Review Board – resurrected after the 2006 fatal police shooting of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston in her home – voted in a recent meeting to sustain Carey’s false arrest claim and the allegation that the officer had violated the department’s arrest policies.

“This case will illustrate to the public how OPS [Office of Professional Standards] responds [to allegations of police misconduct] … There have been some concerns that OPS has not sustained complaints,” said Seth Kirschenbaum, an attorney who is vice-chairman of the board.

“We know, historically, OPS investigations drag on,” said another board member, Sharese Shields.

Still, the board held back on its punishment recommendation to APD until the board’s investigator could gather more information about Dolson’s history with the department, how many public complaints had been filed against him, what kind of complaints have been brought and the outcome of those cases.

Kirschenbaum said in a hearing last week at least 18 complaints had been filed against Dolson since 2001, but only three – all those traffic issues – had been sustained while three other complaints are pending.

Dolson appeared when the Citizen Review Board called him for an interview last year, but he refused to answer questions. The police union has told all APD officers that the department’s policy only requires that they show up when the Citizen Review Board calls, but they don’t have to answer questions because they may not be protected from criminal charges.

Dolson, reached at his home Wednesday, declined to comment. APD spokesman Lt. Curtis Davenport said Dolson is "suspended without pay for an unrelated incident."

Davenport also said the OPS case had been returned to Zone 5 with questions so the internal affairs case remains pending. APD’s Office of Professional Standards has not contacted Carey since her initial interview last summer, five months after the incident, she said.

“What we have here is an abuse of power. He abused his power of having a badge and a gun,” said Kirschenbaum. “That [now] 62-year-old woman got handcuffed, put in a paddy wagon and held in jail for nine hours."

Carey’s only offense, Kirschenbaum said, was that she “was more boisterous than they would have liked when she asked ‘why’… It was just the police wanted these people to move. That [talking on the sidewalk] appears to be the only thing these ladies were doing. There’s no basis to arrest someone for talking loudly.”

Carey and one of the women who was with her that afternoon said Carey was not loud.

The accounts provided by Carey, Dolson, Dolson’s partner and witnesses are essentially the same, according to records.

Carey met three friends on the sidewalk outside the Boulevard Lotto convenience store mid-afternoon last March 26, and for a few moments they talked about upcoming services for a friend who had died after she was hit by a car in front of the store where they were standing.

Dolson and his partner pulled up and told the four women to “move it.”

All agreed that the women were not blocking the sidewalk and that the women were the only people on the sidewalk.

Three women started walking away but Carey didn’t, asking “why” instead.

An account given by Dolson's partner, Jamie Nelson, was that Carey “yelled ‘why’ with a loud manner and refused to leave after we instructed her several times to do so.”

Carey and one of the women with her, 56-year-old Diane Ward, told the AJC there was no shouting.

All the same, Dolson’s answer to Carey’s question was “because I said so,” according to the file.

“I’m a citizen and I’m a taxpayer and I have a right to be here. I’m merely trying to find out about a sister’s funeral,” Carey responded, according to records.

That's when Carey was handcuffed, her hands behind her back, and put into the back of the patrol car – the only time she has been arrested in the 15 years she has lived in Atlanta.

Forty-five minutes later she was moved to a police van with the doors closed despite the heat, where she waited another 45 minutes with others accused of violating city ordinances.

“I was very upset and very angry. Here I am being treated as if I’m not a human, not a citizen of this country,” Carey said in an interview. “I was in this little hot box. There was no air. I was perspiring so much my glasses were sliding off my face.”

On her signature, Carey was released from the city jail around 12:30 a.m. the next day. She took a taxi home to her apartment on Boulevard.

Carey, a diabetic, had gone without food until she got home hours later. She said the handcuffs caused her hands to swell.

Carey had three court dates – the first time her case was not heard because there was no prosecutor and the second and third times it was not heard because Dolson was not in court.

The disorderly conduct charge was dismissed at the third court hearing, she said.

"I had heard about people in the community being harassed by the police,” Carey said. “A neighbor of mine went to jail for sitting on her sister’s car. It was racial profiling because of the community.”

Davenport, the APD spokesman, said it is against departmental policy “to do any sort of racial profiling and any employee doing so will be disciplined to the fullest.” Dolson, the officer who arrested Carey, is black.

Carey said, however, that patrol officers -- regardless of their race -- seem to focus on her neighborhood, and others have had experiences similar to hers.

“It was horrible. It was absolutely horrible,” Carey said. “I couldn’t believe you could just pick people up off the street. It’s a constant problem with the police over here.”

Yeah cops really really get pissed when you ask them to explain their "requests".

Yeah, that isn't good.
But you would get pissed if you asked someone to do something and they yell "why" like a spoiled snob.
But that is no reason to arrest someone.

Well how about the police not bullying the public around. They should remember who they work for and show the public some respect.

Hay Para, Starting to see a pattern yet. These stories and far worse are coming in from all over the Nation,For years. SEMPER FI

Well, if there was a reason to move, maybe construction, or a bike race or something, I would say "are we in the way of something?" or something along those lines. Most do remember who they work for, and respect that. My father does. My grandfather did. All the people they worked for did. I knew those people, know the policemen, and it is there job to protect the public. If the old women in particular were in risk of a construction accident, like a falling tool (it HAS happened before) it would be worse to stand and do nothing.
Once again I fight the lie that all police are crimials with a badge. Really it is a lie told by the mass media, and apperantly all you believe it. Probably most of you don't know a police officer, or anything.
But enough of my rambling.

cops love to abuse their power. it would be a shame if they started to run into more and more people who were not so inclined as to bend over for their every command.

And Para, do you not think that that woman could just look around and see that they weren't in the way of anything before asking "why"? really?

Name one cop that likes to abuse their power. Liberal media fables don't count.

Police are civil servants. Something that most have forgotten. The attitudes of many government employees are past reprehensible. We are not slaves or sheep and if someone asks a cop why, too bad. They have forgotten that "We the People" are their employers.I am sick and tired of government workers treating people like crap.

Hay Para little Brother, were not picking on your families history of Honor in law enforcement. My older brother just retired from the same and I know he's a good guy,Cousins and inlaws cops 2. So that being said, It is what it is,If you ask them honestly they will tell you they probably have a little different perspective on rights and the Constitution. SEMPER FI

Atlanta PD has a history of citizen abuse going back many years.

The arresting cop apparently has "other issues" besides this incident... So, he may have a 'history'.

And, the woman was doing nothing illegal, so the cop had no reason to order her to move.

And, yes, he owed her a reason for the order. This is not Nazi Germany where the citizens have to snap to attention or else.

+1 ConSigCor, SEMPER FI

Yes consigcor, he did. You can't expect a person to immidiatly follow orders militaryesque. This is an American citizen, and most of us like reasons. I would too if I was hanging out at a street corner. However, I would respect his decision if he gave me a good reason, like if they were running an investigation in the building behind us. The police officer was most likely wrong for arresting the woman, but i wasn't there so I can't decide.

Andy Griffith? Certainly not Barney...

Para, you are joking right????? I will agree most cops don't abuse their power, but for you to defend this guy like this is crazy. If there was a reason the women needed to move, such as things you stated, wouldn't it have been more prudent for him to reply with "Maam, there is bike race coming this way" or "Maam, there is construction going on and we don't want you to get hurt". but fact is, we both know that isn't the case. Everywhere I have ever been when there is construction or anything else going on, the area is marked and usually blocked. This is simply a case of a cop being an ass.

And you want an example of even one cop being like this. Back in the mid 90's I was involved in a car accident. Minor fender bender with no injuries. The woman had a child with her, but instead of checking on her child first, she jumped from her car yelling, screaming and cussing at me that I had better have insurance. When the cop arrived, he spent most of his time flirting with her and taking a statement from a "witness" who happen to be related to her. The way the accident report was written, there was no feasible way it could have heppened that way. i went to police station to talk with the assitant chief of police. I introduced myself and he had the accident report in his hand. At no time did he EVER refer to me by my name, first or last. Ever time he addressed me it was "fella." He was "explaining" to me the law, when i asked him a question, he became even more disrectful and ordered me out of the police station and if I didn't leave I would be arrested. Now, I made sure that I was respectful, polite and non-confrontational. After all, I was there telling him his officer was wrong and if I came in belligerent there was no way he would listen to me. He is now the chief of police. At a neighborhood watch meeting, I heard this same officer telling us how he could stop drugs in our town if we would only suspend the constitution. My feeling was if we did that, he would have his jack boots on in a heartbeat.

So don't tell me every person that puts on a uniform is here to serve and protect. Sometimes assess do make it onto the force, and sometimes they even make chief.

Dolson appeared when the Citizen Review Board called him for an interview last year, but he refused to answer questions. The police union has told all APD officers that the department’s policy only requires that they show up when the Citizen Review Board calls, but they don’t have to answer questions because they may not be protected from criminal charges.

Guess they have something to hide? If we peons refuse to let them search us without a warrant we're terrorists. I guess they don't like the same treatment?

Where do you get she was snobish and yelling???

"Carey and one of the women with her, 56-year-old Diane Ward, told the AJC there was no shouting." I would believe them over a thug with a badge and 18 filed complaints. How many didn't get reported? 180?

All 50 states allow you to resist an unlawful arrest with lethal force.

"Total Resistance, You may very well be the least popular member on this board..." - ParaSKS :-)

Now TR you know your everyones favorite.... :p

Not all, but MOST cops today are bullies and thugs.

I disagree.

I have been in traffic stops three times in the last month. One for speeding, 70 in a 55, the cop let me go with a warning, once for improper equipment, the cop let me go, said he just wanted to let me know my light was out. Another was at a DUI checkpoint and my inspection was out of date, he let me go with a warning after I showed him the bag of parts on the floor of the truck. In all three incidents, I was carrying my pistol openly, which they didnt really seem to mind, they were professional about their job, and they were more than fair.

Sledster

I've had my run ins with the law. Some officers have been royal Aholes and probably need to be put down. Others were extremely polite and sympathetic even. Just like everyone of us, LEO's should be judged ona person to person basis.

When I was around 18 or 19 I would frequently donate plasma to pick up a few extra bucks. One particularly hot day I had done that. As the heat was really getting to me I'd gone into a drugstore to buy a couple candy bars. The sugar usually would get my system back on track. While waiting in line I fainted. I promptly fainted two more times until I was (helped?) by the manager to the lunch counter to sit down. Meantime the store manager had called the police, tho I did not know this.

As I sat there sipping some water a Seattle cop came up from behind me and demanded my ID. All I had was a draft card as I did not have a drivers license. He spent the next 20 minutes or so hassling me and running a 'make' on me. I know it really pissed him off that each time I came up clean with no wants/warrants. While putting up with his abuse I asked if this would take awhile. His smartass reply had me order some french fries which I ate while he abused his authority. The food perked me up. When the cop realized he had no cause to further detain me he left me this parting gift. He got really close to my face while he grabbed me by the back of my neck and pinched nerves (like a favorite uncle used to do in fun), but when the cop did it it was painfull. He whispered that he "knew I was on something". He couldn't prove it right then but I had better watch myself because the next time I wouldn't be so lucky.

No I don't remember his name. At the time I memorized his badge number. I never made a complaint about him. Before this incident my opinion of LEOs was pretty low. This experience further cemented my opinion that some cops are assholes.

Fast forward about 38 years. LEOs are necessary in our society otherwise there would be anarchy. Me, generally speaking I don't like cops. I don't trust them. Neither should you in my opinion.

ParaSKS is a 15 year old kid. Granted from what I've read he's a good kid. Lord knows we haven't enough good kids in America these days. He still believes 'the policeman is your friend'. That's a bunch of BS.

Generally I am a stand up guy. I drive under the speed limit 'cuz usually I'm in no hurry. I maintain my truck mainly to avoid getting pulled over/hassled by cops who love to write tickets. I haven't had a ticket in over 16 years. I don't drink and drive. I maintain my situational awareness. I don't like cops. That will NEVER change.