Georgia officers terminated after caught on camera using coin-toss app to determine arrest

by Farnoush Amiri

Officers Courtney Brown and Kristee Wilson were fired after an investigation into bodycam footage showed they failed to perform at an “acceptable level,” according to the termination letter.

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.

Image: Courtney Brown Kristee Wilson
Roswell Police Officers Courtney Brown, left, and Kristee Wilson are on leave after a video surfaced showing the two officers flipping a coin to determine whether or not they should arrest a woman pulled over for speeding in Roswell, Georgia.Roswell Police Department

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.