Crime & Safety

Letter to the Editor: Man Continues to Dispute Police Over Arrest

Chris Price believes he was wrongly arrested in July after making a police officer angry and admits that his behavior was erratic.

 

Sandy Springs Police arrested pedestrian Chris Price in July after he displayed erratic behavior, when they talked to him on Lake Placid Drive. He was charged with being under the influence, disorderly conduct and obstruction.

Price believes he was wrongly arrested and admits that his behavior was erratic.

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On Thursday, Price sent the following Letter to the Editor to Patch. Tell us what you think in the comments below.

Yesterday I was e-mailed a letter from Internal Affairs stating that my claims are unfounded, however I find the nature of the exchange suspicious.

Find out what's happening in Sandy Springswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The e-mail arrived one day after I sent Internal Affairs a request for the names of the other officers at the scene along with an explanation about how I intend to sue for "failure to intervene."

Failure to intervene is a legal term for when a police officer fails to stop a fellow officer from violating the constitutional rights of a citizen. In other words, my e-mail stated that once the arresting officer is found guilty of violating my rights then all other officers would be held legally liable. I sent that message as well as an email questioning why Officer Ortega was trying to claim that I was sitting on a guardrail.

There is no logical reason as to why I would take a seat on a guardrail that is about 5 minutes from my condo while I am walking home. Furthermore, there is no reason why I would randomly take a seat in front of an already stopped cop. I asked internal affairs where the blatant lie came from and they ignored the question. I find it extremely suspicious how the investigation that was supposed to take up to 45 days suddenly ended the second I brought up failure to intervene.

In fact, I never mentioned the other officers until the 27th and the investigation coincidentally ended hours after I brought them up (Internal Affairs emailed me to say the investigation concluded the same day I mentioned failure to intervene). Originally I was told I was going to receive a status update and then it turned into the conclusion of the investigation.

Lastly, the letter I was sent listed the names of the other officers despite the fact the investigation centered on Ortega.

It's as though the second Internal Affairs realized that by supporting my claims they would also have to take action against Sgt. McNabb and Officer Gomez they pulled the plug on the investigation.

The so-called investigation appears to have been a sham, as I offered multiple witnesses to support my side of the story and Internal Affairs ignored my offer. I also received an e-mail from the Sandy Springs city manager stating that the city attorney was supposed to have been the one to investigate and that he would get in touch with me when the investigation concluded...None of that happened. Just thought I should let you know what is going on and I will continue to investigate.

Thanks,

Chris Price

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