The arrests of three individuals in Coffee County on Wednesday night sparked a little controversy after a friend of one of the offenders posted a video on social media claiming that at least one of the men was being held on an immigration violation but was a citizen. In the video, the man claimed that sheriff’s office personnel refused to release his friend even though he was legal.
Sheriff Fred Cole, however, released a statement on his personal Facebook page stating that the three men were not being held on immigration violations at all. They had been arrested by a trooper from the Georgia State Patrol on obstruction charges and were booked into the Coffee County Jail under normal booking procedures.
The video, which was filmed in front of the sheriff’s office, is in Spanish. However, the video’s description is in English and reads: “Context. Late last night I came to bail a buddy of mine. He is a US citizen born in the United States. I get there and they won’t release him because he has an immigration hold on him. I was told by several officers not just one after making a fuss about it and me and pissed somebody off officer comes out and tells us it doesn’t matter if they’re US citizens. If they’re Latino they will call ICE. We tried to identify my friend with a birth certificate. They said they couldn’t take that cuz it could be false documentation.”
Thursday, Sheriff Cole released the following statement: “I want to clear the air about what happened at the Coffee County Jail last night. Georgia State Patrol arrested three individuals last night. They were charged with obstruction and brought to our jail. During booking, every person, regardless of race or nationality is entered into GCIC to check for outstanding warrants or holds from other agencies. No one is allowed to post a bond until we receive that information back. Let me be clear: This was NOT an immigration hold. It was a normal booking procedure. Once the check was completed, the situation was handled exactly the way the law and our policies require. Our staff did their jobs the right way. Professionally. Respectfully. By the book. And I’m proud of them. Everyone who comes through our doors is treated with dignity and respect — no matter who they are or where they’re from.”
DouglasNow will provide updates if anything develops further.
