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Two Georgia police officers were terminated on Thursday after an investigation into bodycam footage showed them using a coin-toss app to determine the arrest of a woman during a traffic stop in April.
Julie Brechbill, the community relations manager for the city of Roswell confirmed the news regarding officers Courtney Brown and Kristee Wilson to NBC News on Thursday.
In the termination letter, Roswell Police Chief Rusty Grant said that both officers had, “engaged in conduct on or off duty which adversely affects the efficiency of the department and has a tendency to destroy public respect for the employee or the department.”
Grant’s letter also noted that the officers had violated two of the department’s human resources policies by failing to perform at an “acceptable level.”
“Why am I being arrested?” Sarah Webb is heard saying to Officer Brown in the bodycam footage posted by NBC affiliate WXIA of Atlanta, which first reported the story.
“This isn’t a police procedure, to bring a coin flip — whether it’s an app or an actual coin toss — that’s not part of that decision making to decide to take someone’s freedom,” Grant said.
Webb, who said on July 13 that she was driving fast because she was late for her job at a hair salon, was arrested on charges of speeding, reckless driving and driving too fast for conditions, according to police records. On July 9, a prosecutor dismissed the charges, the station reported.
“These are people who are supposed to protect us, and instead are treating our freedom and our lives like games,” Webb, 24, told NBC News in a phone interview on July 13. “It’s disgusting. It’s scary to think police officers do stuff like this.”
In the video posted by WXIA, Brown and Wilson, are heard discussing what they should do with Webb, and then Brown says that she doesn’t have speed detection equipment and Wilson says she doesn’t have any tickets.
The officers used the terms “A” or arrest for heads, and “R” or release for tails, according to the station. The video’s audio appears to record Wilson saying “This is tail right?,” Brown answers, “Yeah. So release?” and then Wilson says “23,” or a police code for arrest, WXIA reported.
Webb said she didn’t know the officers used the coin-toss app before arresting her until she was contacted by WXIA three weeks before her court date.