Houston County Sheriff Sued for 2013 Arrest of Videographer

Jason Patrick was staying at a friend’s in August of 2013. One night he came home to find the police on his friend’s property. Jason didn’t know it, but his buddy was in an ongoing dispute over property lines and, earlier that day, the neighbor had destroyed some fencing on the property. This brought Houston County Deputy Sheriff “Andrews” to the property and the following interaction was caught on video (below).

Jason did a marvelous job of CopBlocking the hot-tempered Andrews with his knowledge and video camera. Jason’s only goal was to record the actions of the police, primarily since Andrews had waved him and his buddy over to begin with. When approached or given orders by Andrews, Jason answered his questions with questions and even complied with a few ridiculous commands. Nevertheless, the respect Jason gave Andrews fell on deaf ears and he was arrested for obstruction of an officer, the standard charge given to people who don’t do exactly what police say. It’s usually a pretty difficult charge to beat due to the subjective nature of the law.

Jason retained a lawyer, and with such clear video evidence the criminal charges were dropped in early 2014 before any legal fight. Of course, nothing happened to Andrews and we have reason to believe he’s still employed with the Sheriff’s Department. This conclusion was reached when Jason’s attorney served notice of the civil lawsuit against Andrews (and his employer) at the Houston County Sheriff’s Department this past Friday (see suit here; note that the suit is a first draft and claims may be added or clarified over time). Jason is seeking corrective measures, damages, and lawyer fees for his wrongful arrest and treatment by deputy Andrews.

This is why people have no faith in the justice or policing systems in this country. Here a man was arrested for doing nothing more than filming a public official and is about to go on three years of trying to get accountability. The district attorney’s office recognized the wrongdoing and dropped the charges. Why haven’t the police done the same? Now they find themselves amidst a lawsuit for wrongful arrest, lack of training, and improper detainment.

We’ll keep you posted at the lawsuit progresses. In the meantime, visit CopBlock.org’s resources, filming the police, and know your rights tabs to further your knowledge on interacting with police.

CONTACT INFORMATION OF HOUSTON COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT:

Houston County Sheriff’s Office
202 Carl Vinson Parkway
Warner Robins, Ga. 31088
Office: 478-542-2125
HCS on Facebook

Houston County Sheriff Sued for 2013 Arrest of Videographer is a post from Cop Block – Badges Don’t Grant Extra Rights