Posted on 09/20/2007 4:29:27 PM PDT by decimon
BARROW COUNTY, Ga. -- A Barrow County woman says an off-duty deputy handcuffed and had her strip-searched because of a simple dispute over a power line.
“My life has never been the same since. I’m having a very hard time with it,” said Sue Worley.
A farm in Hoschton in Barrow County has been home to 60-year-old Worley all her life.
Late last year, a letter from the Georgia Transmission Corporation told her a 230 Kilovolt power line was going to go through her property. When surveyors showed up, Worley said she went down the road to talk. She said she didn’t threaten anyone, but the Barrow County deputy working with the surveyors didn’t see it that way -- the deputy called for backup.
“I saw two sheriff’s cars drive up,” said Worley. She was handcuffed, arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.
“I was in the car and I went all the way to the jail handcuffed,” she said. Worley was booked into the jail, patted down and strip searched.
“She sprayed me down with lice spray. It was so humiliating,” Worley said. “They made a criminal out of me.”
The charges were dropped, but Worley and her lawyer are suing the Georgia Transmission Company.
“It’s just pure, old-fashioned intimidation. They want people’s land and they don’t want to pay for it,” said Worley's lawyer, Don Evans. “They’re going to set their power poles wherever they want and if anybody gives them any lip, they’ll put you in jail.”
She and her lawyer said they’re suing, not just for her, but for other Georgians facing the threat of eminent domain and what they see as loss of property rights.
“I just don’t see how this could happen in a land of freedom, but we don’t have freedom anymore because people can just do anything they want to,” said Worley.
Project H.O.P.E. -- Homeowners Opposing Power Line Encroachment -- said Worley's case shows the need for the governor and legislature to draw stronger citizen-friendly laws to prevent what it calls, "preferential treatment," for power companies.
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.
Right now, it looks like the power line will go up either late next year or in early 2009.
“A cop is always on duty. That’s my understanding.”
Not my understanding but I’m not a lawyer. It’s one thing if he’s off duty and happens across a problem and takes action.
Its another if he’s getting paid on the side and arrest someone who has a disagreement with his employer. IMO he’s operating outside the bounds of his official duties. Otherwise we are saying the police are at the beck and call of anyone who has a few bucks. And since this didn’t happen in New Orleans, Jersey, or Chicago we know that just isn’t true.
Literacy is a wonderful thing...:)
I believe one of the greatest benefits of energy self-sufficiency would be curtailment of the utility monster,which is one of the reasons utilities fight homeowner power.
“Literacy is a wonderful thing...:)”
And your point is? I’ve probably read more books this month then you’ll read all year.
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.
Only up to post 15 on the thread and so many Olympic athletes jumping to conclusions.
First: The deputy called for another deputy. Was that the one on duty? Was the deputy on the side job there for traffic control? Or don’t we care?
Second: What was the power company doing? Was it stringing line? That tells me the legal part was settled long ago. Both would have been nice to include in the story.
Third: Was it an easement? Was it always the right of the power company to access the property? Goes with number two above.
Fourth: From the story she was stripped searched and dusted not in her driveway, but most likely at jail be a female deputy. It is probably the standard procedure at the jail for everyone. There is no indication anyone was outside the line on standard procedures for an arrest.
Fifth: If the charge was disorderly, what did she do or say? Did the deputies have it on tape? Or is only one side needed here for the “jack booted thug” crowd?
What a pathetic excuse for journalism. We don’t have a full story, we only have a small part of the story. But that seems to be enough for our Olympians.
I prefer the term 'Revenue Enhacement Technician'.
wow, a bit touchy aren’t you? The answer to your question was in the “reading” material....guess it’s a comprehension issue with you instead....do you remember those books you’ve read???
Individuals can not stop a power line, if they could, none would ever get built.
How long could you survive with out electricity in your town?
Power lines are absolutely for the common good, and not at all like some darned boneheaded redevelopment scheme, like the asshats in Kelo, elected their representatives to pursue.
Nerd fight!
say what? Are you saying that literacy is just a matter of reading "more" books?...and then assuming that the person you posted too doesn't read much? How would you know?
Literacy and ignorance aren't mutually exclusive...I've heard said. Or did I read it somewhere?
My less-than-Olympian conclusion is that nothing would have happened to her if a private security guard had been there in place of the deputy.
I’m not an attorney. Here’s what it looks like to me.
That company must have had some authority to be there. If they didn’t they’re in deep caca.
Unless money had changed hands, that power company had no business being on her property. A court may have given them that authority to complete surveys. If not, they were tresspassing. As for the deputy, he would have been too.
He can be there as security for a firm if they have a right to be there. If they don’t, he would be a party to a crime.
This woman may be get herself an attorney and clean these folk’s clock.
If they had been in Texas and tried to pull this, the husband may have been within his rights to use lethal force to prevent his wife from being kidnapped. Of course that’s assuming the company did not have the right to be there.
I have a real hard time thinking they didn’t. They would be opening themselves up to some serious litigation if they didn’t.
This sort of thing bothers me alot. Property rights are very important.
It has a nice ring to it, also they should be required to wear a bright green Dollar sign in place of their badges.
"When surveyors showed up"
Well, I'll jump to the conclusion that surveyors were surveying. What do you think surveyors might be doing? Where I'm from, surveyors don't string line. They survey to set the description for filing an eminent domain action.
Some states gave such powers to canals, railroads and tollroads.
That's why the county sheriff and his deputies, on or off duty, would respond to the utility's complaint first with not a lot of investigation.
They never do.
The reason utilities fight homeowner power is because of the way the laws permitting it were written.
Those laws were written so that the utilities take all of the financial risk and burden.
Just because some homeowner sets up his own wind turbine and “goes off the grid” the utility doesn’t get to cut service to him.
The utility still has to maintain service to that customer even though they are not receiving any substantial income from him.
Also any excess power that the customer generates the utility is required to purchase from the customer at a premium.
Then there is the issue of power quality. These off the grid power producers have a bad reputation with putting low quality power on the grid which can cause havoc with the equipment of other customers.
The utilities have just cause to oppose independent power producers. The deck is stacked against them.
“Nerd fight!”
I’m not a nerd, I’m a geek.
I like the way you jumped on this thread to damn others for jumping to conclusions, just before jumping to your own.
I see no indication the power company had any right to be there. The letter of intent doesn’t justify anything.
Now you can jump to conclusions that they did, but that’s no wiser than jumping to conclusions that they didn’t.
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