Help my son get his life back

On the morning of September 1, 2021, our son, William, was travelling from Franklin, NC to Smyrna Georgia on his way to a doctor’s appointment after having visited his grandparents in NC. He was running late, and he was speeding. He was pulled over for speeding in Habersham County, Georgia at about 10:00 AM.

 

William is bipolar.

 

He was trembling and shaking when the officer approached the car. Rather than simply giving him a traffic citation for speeding, this officer accused him of being intoxicated, of being a drug addict and of having the intention of going to Atlanta to buy drugs. Although William successfully took a sobriety test on the side of the road, the officer arrested him for DUI. He was taken in handcuffs to a local hospital for a blood test.

 

William told the officer that he is bipolar and that he needs his medication (which was in the car). He was ignored.

 

From there he was taken to the jail and strip searched. He was put into a cell and left there for 12 hours without being allowed to make a phone call to anyone. He begged to be able to contact his family knowing that we would be extremely worried. He was told he is “cheap change.” By the time William was able to call us 12 hours later, we had been frantically searching for him and were on the verge of filing a missing person’s report.

 

We bailed him out over the phone and then he was set free, without his car which had been impounded, in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night without any assistance.

 

His court date is November 4. Although it would seem that the results of the blood test (which can take 60-90 days to come back) should clear him, it is possible that something will show up in the blood work that is not related to that day or even that week.

 

Because of the complications of the case, we have hired an attorney. With his help, it is our hope that the case will be dismissed and never go to court. We have also filed a complaint with the ACLU of Georgia regarding how William was treated.

 

The cost of hiring an attorney to try and bring the case to a close before going to court is $4500. Unfortunately, we are not able to cover this cost on our own.

 

If you are interested in helping William to get back on his feet with a clean slate and to stand in support of a young man who is going through so much in his life, please consider supporting our effort to bring justice for William.

 

Thank you.