(Body cam
A former Georgia police officer says he will appeal his dismissal from the force, his firing resulting from a shocking interaction with a teenager that was captured on dash camera.
According to Social Circle Police Chief Tyrone Oliver, former Officer James Sanders violated several policies on November 23 when the 8-year police veteran verbally abused a 17-year-old male and challenged him to fight him. See the full video below.
The incident unfolded during a traffic stop when Sanders overheard a Jeep occupied by four passengers shouting “F**k the Police.” Immediately dropping what he was doing, he pursued the Jeep and eventually pulled it over.
When Sanders confronted the 17-year-old driver, he began reviling the young man in a profanity-laced rant, challenging the minor to fight him.
“The teen kept saying, ‘No, I don’t want to do it.’ And he’s like, ‘No, you’re a tough guy…,'” Oliver said.
Sanders then searched the Jeep and its passengers, looking for marijuana.
Oliver told FOX5 that before the dashcam was reviewed, Sanders initially claimed he pulled the vehicle over for a moving violation.
“He did state that he pulled them over for failure to maintain lane. When you look at the video, the vehicle did hit the white line but it was after he was coming up on them with a high rate of speed,” Oliver insisted.
Prior to the incident, Sanders had 3 disciplinary actions on his record, including a reprimand for threatening staff at a high school back in 2014. Oliver said that the staff were unhappy with the security Sanders provided and approached him on the issue. In response, Sanders threatened to attack the school with anthrax and explosives.
In short, Oliver implied Sanders may not have been able to take criticism and negative feedback anymore.
“In this profession, we have to have tough skin. People say stuff to us all the time and you got to let it roll off your back and do your job and do it right,” Oliver said.
Sanders filed his formal petition for appeal on Monday with the City Council.
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