A spokesperson for the Georgia Transmission Corporation told Channel 2 they had hired a deputy because they'd had some subtle threats from other residents in the area.
“I saw two sheriff’s cars drive up,” said Worley. She was handcuffed, arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.
She is suing the Georgia Transmission Company but the way I see it she should be suing the Sheriff.
IMO off duty sheriff’s deputies should not be moonlighting as security because of cases just like this one.
It does put a deputy in the position of serving two masters. Working security for a company like this does change the way a deputy sees things, he can’t help himself. He will build a relationship with those people he is working with.
The deputies that showed up after the off duty deputy called for backup are going to take him at his word that she was disorderly even if she was not misbehaving when they arrived.
LEO should not be permitted to moonlight as private security. It is a conflict of interest.
In lots of places the norm for private security is an "off-duty" LEO ,and his powers of arrest and ability to call in on-duty backup are seen as a big plus.In some cases,it is a real sweetheart deal as the case of a power plant ,which construction security was "off-duty" deputies using county cars and equipment.The deputies made a very tidy sum and private security firms were apparently not invited. Once construction was completed a private firm got the normal plant security contract. In certain parts of Ohio,sporting events are apparently the exclusive territory of "off-duty" LEOs.Again those hiring them either see the police powers as a plus or have little choice.
No, she (and her husband) should be suing the Georgia Transmission Corp. They are the proximate cause of any complaint that led to the arrest of a private citizen on her own property. The sheriff’s department would not have been involved in this situation if not for the actions of the GTC.
The Sheriff’s department was responding to a request (whether or not is was factual or substantiated) of the GTC. They didn’t show up out of the blue.
Now, the charge of “disorderly conduct” - on your own property - is absolutely bogus, and that should cost the deputy and the sheriff their jobs.
I know it used to be illegal here in IL. They can have second jobs as Security officers or what have you, but they're absolutely not allowed to wear their duty uniforms or carry their PD badges.
L
However, the deputy that was providing security didn't arrest the woman. He called the sheriff's office and they sent other deputies to respond to the incident, and they arrested her.
The utility workers do have a legal right to be there. If you go and harass someone that has a legal right to be where they are, that is disorderly conduct, even if you remain on your own property while doing it.
The deputies that showed up after the off duty deputy called for backup are going to take him at his word that she was disorderly even if she was not misbehaving when they arrived.
So you're suggesting that this off duty officer just called in the other sheriff's deputies for the fun of it? If he did he must really like being ridiculed by his co-workers for not being able to deal with an old woman.
You think his co-workers are going to enjoy going out there and arresting an old woman and taking her to jail?
You're suggesting he is doing this to make the utility workers or the utility company happy. Why would the workers make a big deal out of this unless she was harassing them. Why would the utility company want the bad press of arresting an old woman?
She went over to them, not the other way around. Arguing with utility workers is also a pretty useless thing to do. They don't have any authority to change where the power lines go.
I find it hard to believe that officers arrested a little old woman for disorderly conduct when she didn't give them reason to do so. I also find it difficult to believe that an off duty deputy is going to call out other deputies just because a woman is standing on her own property and watching them.
LEO should not be permitted to moonlight as private security. It is a conflict of interest.
There's no evidence that he called out the other officers because of a conflict of interest, and if you want to ban deputies from having side jobs, you're going to have to pay them considerably more, because deputies don't get paid very well, and the side jobs are where they make a very large portion of their incomes. If you take away their ability to make a reasonable living, you're just going to end up with lower quality deputies.