Complaint made against Floyd County Police officer
by Jeremy Stewart, Staff Writer
Sep 19, 2012 | 20057 views | 27 27 comments | 33 33 recommendations | email to a friend | print
A Floyd County code enforcement vehicle parked near a handicap parking space Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012 at the Kangaroo Express, located at 938 Broad St. (Contributed photo)
A Floyd County code enforcement vehicle parked near a handicap parking space Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012 at the Kangaroo Express, located at 938 Broad St. (Contributed photo)
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A Floyd County police officer is the subject of an internal investigation after a complaint was made against him, according to Maj. Mark Wallace.

A citizen, Randy Edwards, took photos of a Floyd County code enforcement vehicle partially blocking access to a handicap parking spot a little before 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Kangaroo Express at 938 Broad St.

Edwards said he called 911 about it since a woman with a handicap tag parked in the non-handicap spot next to the space the code enforcement vehicle was partially blocking.

Wallace said he could not release the details of the incident until after the investigation and proceeding review were complete.
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Comments
(27)
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bustem
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September 23, 2012
To GYGES comment, if that is the Randy Edwards from Shannon I hear NO ONE LIKES him not just the neighbors? If he is R.E. from shannon, Didn't he serve time for some kind of mischief in another county? If he is R.E. from shannon, Might be why he hates the Officer's so bad ! If he is R.E. from shannon, why take his frustration out on Rome when he was busted in another county,he must really be bored to go through all this just to prove what ? That he is R.E. from shannon ! I bet the car parking deal is fly flatulence compared to what possibly the R.E. from shannon has done to get his picture taken. Especially if this is ALL that he could find. o'yeah, RNT really? are ya'll that hard up for readers or ya'll on the bandwagon also ? Just saying !

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OpheliaJuliette
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September 24, 2012
When checked on, that parking space is not properly marked per state requirements, so anyone can park there.
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Trelicious
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September 24, 2012
That is true. Looks bad for a police officer to park there, but it's not even close to being illegal. I'm surprised no one has pointed this out until now.
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redwards6632
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September 26, 2012
it amazes me that you THINK you know so much about this person. I know A LOT of people who like him and especially his neighbors.....people who have a tendency to not like him have been those who have either done him wrong or who have tried to do so-----you must be an associate of someone on that side-----I myself am glad that there are people out there who speak out , believe in what they stand for and stand for what they believe in.......next time you find yourself in a fowl position remember there are people who stand for what they believe in. AND JUST FOR THE RECORD------I was glad to see RNT put just one of the many pics taken in the paper------you (in my opinion) need to become a concerned citizen too!
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nmbr1mom
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November 19, 2012
Looks like Mr.Edwards himself commented about how much his neighbors like him. Whatever. There's a lot of people that know some of the things he tried to con out of people. I.E... property out of Shannon Church of God. He got mad and left that church in a mess HE made because they wouldnt GIVE him property nearby the church. Trust me, NO ONE wants the kind of help he offers. If he's on your property to offer a hand to someone in need - more than likely he's scoping your belongings. Beware.
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justbeingme71
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September 21, 2012
Readers always remember there are 2 sides to a story! Mr. Edwards never stated when the officer pulled up, he parked there to provide assistance to an elderly lady. After doing so, the officer went into the store where Mr. Edwards began to harass him!!
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Bevans1974
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September 21, 2012
justbeingme71... please share with us how you know this info. No where in the article does it say anything about the officer helping anyone or Mr Edwards harassing the officer.

By looking at the picture provided ( which is the only thing i can make a judgement on since i wasnt there ) it would be hard for a person in a wheelchair to park in that spot and navigate past the officer's vehicle to get into the store as he is partially blocking access to the sidewalk.
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redwards6632
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September 26, 2012
you are right, there are always two sides to every story.....unfortunately not this one. THE PICS SHOW THE FACTS and if there were other spaces available as shown in the pics, why didnt the code enforcement ofcr park in one of them and be more professional rather than hinder a HC spot and then impede traffic through the store-------you must be a friend of the ofcr or an associate.....my my my how weeds that look bad hate to be pulled !
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Enforcer
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September 21, 2012
Wow I am shocked. What shall we do. The photo doesn't tell much. Rome News must be hurting for a story. What a waste of time and a total joke. How did they find time to post this crap when they are trying so hard to make Obama look like the good guy and Romney not.
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redwards6632
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September 26, 2012
I am enthralled w/ ""ENFORCER"",shocked,& crap-----those words show me that you are more probable than possible one of those people who WANT TO but wont or you dont know how---you say you will but are more talk than walk and truthfully why dont you call the Police Dept and ask who was actually in the wrong , maybe talk to the Major and see what was said there at the seen? doing so will then allow you to see there was more to this than the pic shows and that the officer was in fact wrong....""ENFORCER"", is that like code enforcer..........

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dbeall
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September 21, 2012
Given the information provided by the NCPO master, it looks like someone with a history of difficulty following the law waited for a police officer to make an honest mistake and pounced on it for revenge.
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redwards6632
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September 26, 2012
May you be reminded ,"CODE ENFORCEMENT",officer, GEORGIA LAWS ,OATH OF OFFICE, OFFICERS CONDUCT.....the laws of the state are for EVERYONE TO ABIDE and officers do not have the right to blatantly abuse, neglect nor ignore them. The move and decision of the officer was not an honest mistake, it was willful,intended and abusive.
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nmbr1mom
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November 19, 2012
EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!
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tedb3rd
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September 20, 2012
If you really want to worry about what law enforcement is doing and improve safety of citizens, you setup a dash cam and record a police car driving past you at about 80mph on US 27 (and they're not running sirens/lights) and then you submit that as a complaint.

411 and you see Bartow doing it.

278 and you see Polk doing it. (And I'm betting they take the win as far as how often you see it.)
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MmmHmm
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September 21, 2012
That's not to mention how their starting to now park in private residence's driveways (houses, not apartments with parking lots). It makes one wonder. What's going to happen when that motorcycle cop that's been hiding out in the driveway next to tractor supply, completely in the dark, gets run over by whoever lives at the top of the hill. Will he be following procedure, like they always are when something goes wrong, or will he be charged with tresspassing when he gets out of the hospital? I mean, at first I though it was just the mailbox reflectors, but to be sure I bright lighted him and sure enough, there was Mr. CHiPs with his Buck Rodgers Edition Super Incognito Spaceman Laser Gun 5000 just zapping away.
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Trelicious
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September 19, 2012
You are on the right track. Keep digging into the identity of the person who gave RNT this story, and you will wonder why in the heck RNT took the bait.
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npcomaster
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September 20, 2012
It's pretty simple. If someone files a complaint about police that on its face seems to be legitimate then we report it. Mr. Edwards has been in our newspaper several times - for his own arrests - and brought us several images of what appeared to be a police vehicle blocking a handicapped space. He also filed a complaint with the police department. We have reported that he has filed that complaint and the police are looking at that complaint. No more, no less.
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gigima
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September 20, 2012
The purpose of his complaint is that, above all others, our law enforcement officers need to set an example. Sure, a HC person could squeeze into the space, but why should she have to? She parked in the space adjacent to the HC space. That is the purpose of the special parking and we pay for them to be striped off for those who need them. You probably wouldn't feel the same had you ever #1 tried to park your disabled grandmother in a HC parking place because she had to unload the wheelchair to go in, or #2 if you had ever received a ticket and FINE for parking in one yourself. It's not all about a small complaint. It's about holding those accountable whose jobs are to hold the citizens of this area accountable for their infractions of such laws. Don't be quick to judge because there is always more to a story than what meets the eye.

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redwards6632
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September 26, 2012
.......Hmm, was your story not good enough for the paper? guess not ,we never read anything about nor from..who(?)Trelicious?
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TheSeer
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September 19, 2012
Consider who the contributor of the photograph is. Enough said.
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sgreen181
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September 19, 2012
I was behind this same vehicle Monday and noticed it only had one brake light working. I thought it ironic that a Code Enforcement Vehicle wasn't up to code..
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A_concerned_parent
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September 20, 2012
Just like with our cars he may not have known that his brake light was out if it had just blew... They also are not traffic enforcers, they deal with illegal dumping and burning and those type issues..
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AnotherPatriot
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September 21, 2012
To "A_concerned-parent", every agency I know of that operates a fleet of vehicles, has a policy that states that ALL vehicle operators will check for proper functioning DAILY. If this agency doesn't, then they are being irresponsible. My bet is that they do have such a policy and the vehicle operator was NOT doing his job properly. And from my experience with county vehicles, very few of them are properly maintained. I have two dents on the hood of my personal vehicle after one of their trailers that pick up tree debris tossed a rock into it. Go figure, there were no mud flaps on it. I'm just lucky that the tandem wheels didn't toss up something much larger and propel it through my windshield. You can point the finger at this Mr. Edwards all day long but the problem begins with the County.
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MistahROME
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September 19, 2012
Sorry but if you can't get in or out of that parking spot. You my friend need to give up your drivers license.
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MarkB701
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September 19, 2012
I am a strong supporter of the Police. I am also a wheelchair user. I am so grateful when I am able to legitimately use a HC space since it enables me to safely unload my wheelchair from my van.

However, I also see so much abuse by non-HC folks. There is always a good reason in their mind. However, seeing a cop join in with this abuse is disappointing, because of the message it sends to other people out there.

I have enough disabled cop friends who could better explain to this officer.
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eyewitness
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September 19, 2012
As the parent of a special needs child I understand the frustration of handicapped parking abuse. I have, however, been to this convenience store and there really aren't any places to park to go into the store. You either block a gas pump or try to squeeze in somewhere. This photo doesn't prove the officer did anything wrong. The car could simply be turning around and the photo snapped at just the right moment. Even if the car was parked when the photo was taken the officer is not illegally parked and it is obvious that he allowed plenty of room for someone to park in the handicapped spot. I'm not sure what the law is in a situation like this but I don't think we want to be so petty about every incident like this or none of us will be going to one of these older convenience stores that don't have adequate parking.
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redwards6632
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September 26, 2012
another good message !
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