A Georgia police officer resigned from his job on Friday after erroneously pulling over a teenager, causing her to spend more than two weeks in a federal immigration jail, and leaving her facing deportation.
The officer, Leslie O’Neal, was employed at the police department in Dalton, a small city more than an hour north of Atlanta.
His arrest of college student Ximena Arias-Cristobal not only led to a domino effect that could lead to her deportation – it also engendered anger and criticism, especially given the circumstances of her immigration-related detention.
“The department’s silence in the face of widespread defamation has not only made my position personally untenable but has also created an environment where I can no longer effectively carry out my duties within the city of Dalton without fear of further backlash from the community,” O’Neal wrote in the letter.
What I hear is: publicizing and criticizing individuals’ actions works to stop them.
Another take: he resigned because the department didn’t come out to defend his actions.
He’s just gonna move out to the next town and keep committing crimes protected by the badge.
He’s going to go work for ICE now, this is going to get him expedited through the process. He’ll probably be running his own team by the end of 6 months.
May the forces forbid!
Was hoping it was because they felt some kind of shame, but no, of course not.
