During a routine traffic stop that spiraled out of control and led to the arrest of an elderly Black woman, an Alpharetta Police Officer has since resigned.
65-year-old grandmother Rose Campbell, was pulled over on May 4, after police noticed she’d swerved into an adjacent lane. After she refused to sign the ticket and asked to speak the officer’s supervisor, backup authorities came. One of the officers James H. Legg was seen on the dashcam footage released shouting and using explicit language saying, “You’re not in charge, shut the f**k up and get out of the car,” before yanking her arm. Two other officers were pulling the woman from the car as she’s heard crying for help.
After the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety reviewed the video, Chief John Robison voiced his “major concerns” about Legg’s behavior according to WXIA. The department said in a Facebook video, that the officer “interjected himself into the situation using language and tactics that were inappropriate, even inflammatory.”
However, in Legg’s resignation letter submitted Friday, May 11, the officer said he “did what was necessary to complete the arrest by raising my voice and using verbal commands using heavy control talk with profanity.”
He continued, “I do not feel I will get a fair internal affairs investigation from you due to the comments you made on Facebook prior to interviewing any of the other officers, or even me. I feel my decisions ended a volatile situation quickly with very limited force and got everyone off the highway and back into service.”
A statement from Chief Robison as well as a resignation letter from James Legg. pic.twitter.com/JgcZpgbDfk
— AlpharettaPublicSafety (@AlpharettaDPS) May 11, 2018
Alpharetta Department of Public Safety public information officer Howard Miller told the NBC affiliate, “Ms. Campbell was complying with our officers, she was stepping out of the vehicle, there was really no reason for officer Legg to interject himself verbally or physically.”
