Atlanta Police Use Excessive ‘Discretion’ While Arresting Brit Historian for Jaywalking
Jan 16th, 2007 by Donagh
It’s old news now, perhaps, but this recent entry on John Baker’s blog was news to me:
“British historian, Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, was arrested, pinned to the pavement by five police officers, handcuffed and kept in a cell for eight hours in Atlanta for trying to cross the road. Three memorable quotes came out of the incident.
Fernando-Armesto’s wife commented, ‘I suppose he was lucky they didn’t shoot him.’
After he was released from custody, Fernandez-Armesto said, ‘As an ageing member of the bourgeoisie, I found it quite educational.’
But perhaps the best one came from the arresting officer, Kevin Leonpacher, who insisted: ‘I used an excessive amount of discretion.’”