Federal Suit Claims Small-Town Cop Wrongly Made DUI Arrests for Prescribed Meds
Statham, Georgia, is a small town of some 2,400 people. But a suit claims one of its police officers, until he left the department in June, routinely arrested dozens of people, usually women, and charged them with driving under the influence simply because they were taking medications prescribed by their doctors.
August 01, 2017 at 02:38 PM
4 minute read
Statham, Georgia, is a town of some 2,400 people on less than 4 miles square on a state highway en route from Atlanta to the University of Georgia in Athens. But one of its police officers, until he left the department in June, routinely arrested dozens of people, usually women, and charged them with driving under the influence simply because they were taking medications prescribed by their doctors that did not impair their driving, according to a new federal lawsuit.
Atlanta attorney Zack Greenamyre said his client, Kelly Pickens, was one of those women.
Two years ago, Statham Police Officer Marc Lofton followed Pickens into the parking lot of a convenience store, ostensibly to question her about the lack of a license plate on the car she had just bought, Greenamyre said. After Pickens showed him paperwork confirming that she had applied for and was waiting for the plate to arrive in the mail, Lofton asked her if she was taking any prescription medications.
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