Hall Co. Buford, GA -- July 29, 2024. I have never been one to be kept in line. So when the sobering reminder that we must always be on guard showed up at my door on this Monday night--4-6 Gwinnett county police cruisers (no lights-no sirens) and a state patrol car parked in my driveway)--I didn't exactly show up ready for the foreshadowed fight ahead. Quite frankly, I left the gun in the nightstand, and my phone/camera on the kitchen table.
A lot has changed for this writer since I last picked up the pen against the brutality of the police state. I divorced my then-husband, rode the roller coaster of custody battles and dealt with DFCS (Dept of Family & Children), public schools, and courts for a variety of reasons -- but the most obvious and apparent of them being simply that I'm a good person. Georgia doesn't think so and has gone to great lengths with the employ of all the agencies at their disposal to try and prove it. Unfortunately, each time, they end up with egg on their face. They will again, but this is just the beginning of that chapter.
Age and Wisdom be Damned! If Karma Doesn't Punch You in the Face, Know I Want to!
As a mother of three, my first and foremost duty is to protect my children from harm or peril. Most mothers understand this intense maternal instinct—an unspoken, relentless drive that compels us to shield our families from harm, no matter the sacrifice. It's a force that unites and empowers us all and can be used to keep us in line.
As a witch, the first dedication to my charge is to be a custodian of balance and harmony, using my knowledge and abilities to protect, heal, and promote positive energy. That may include rituals, spells, and other gestures of power and energy that some would consider ineffective--and we can debate that another time.
In my thirty years as a practicing witch, embracing the wisdom and strength that come with this path can be rewarding and uplifting; but it can also be challenging. The label of "witch" carries the weight of misunderstanding and prejudice. Despite the love and protection I offer my family, society sometimes sees me through a lens tainted by ancient fears and modern ignorance. That's fine. To each their own.
However, this is where the challenge comes in, because although I am recognized for my commitment to my path, I am constantly under fire, as if the forces that be want to test my dedication. Of course, as any logical person would do, the scale of response will generally take over to ensure confrontations are minimized to more necessary times. Like a bee protective of its stinger, I know what picking up the battle sword means for my well-being.
Unfortunately, it also lends to the misinterpretation of what exact measures I might take to defend my person, my beliefs, and my family. Let me be clear. I live in a stand-your-ground state, and when prompted by necessity, I will stand my ground.
Single-mom-hood aside, the natural condition of any woman pushed to the edge by a society that has forgotten the true meaning of justice is one I couldn't think anyone would want to FAFO about. But queue Gwinnett County Police--it's not the first time they have been the subject matter of my content, and by the looks of it, this will not be the last.
Echoes of the Past? The Matrix Says Corruption
Flashback to fall 2016. I got a speeding ticket in Gwinnett County and was subjected to going to court about it. The judge must've had a vendetta against Caucasians, cops, speeders, or all of the above because he very biasedly accused the police of profiling an African American kid who was charged with some random traffic offense and additionally blasting "Fuck the police" through his stereo system. That kid was made to feel like a hero of the day, as the judge promised to get him wrapped up quickly.
After emptying the courtroom of other victims of the state, I was finally called to stand. There was no mercy extended, no suggestion that the police were profiling me. No, in fact, I was instantly accused of being a negligent person who travels at triple digits everywhere I have to go and the judge had 'something for me' indicating a punishment so severe it begged for an explanation, but never got one. I paid a hefty fine, was "sentenced" to pick up trash on the side of the road for community service, and was required to attend driving school. I complied. I did everything they demanded and walked the paperwork right up the clerk windows for handoff once completed. Case closed, right? Wrong. Let's get back to Monday night, 2024.
Do you remember that scene from The Matrix when Neo sees the deja vu of the cat, and everyone instantly knows something about the Matrix has been changed? Turns out there was a traitor among the heroes, and that's kind of how this was.
It had already been a long day. I'm a single mom working six jobs and I'm heading to the local grocery store at 6:17p.m. I have an easily triggered spite for driving in traffic, so I take some backroads that go by a prison. I would also take this road home to avoid the traffic trying to turn left onto the highway I live on from the typical, people-filled road. Little did I know, this simple act would trigger a series of events straight out of an Orwellian nightmare.
I get home, get groceries put away, and I'm about 5 minutes and a dog walk away from calling it a day when my otherwise quiet evening was shattered by the pounding of fists at my front door. I'm not expecting company and anyone I would expect knows to come to the back door (I have a silly phobia of front door interactions due to the facing the highway, so when the lock broke in the locked position years ago, I never bothered fixing it). A glance out the window showed five Gwinnett County Police cars, a Georgia State Patrol car, and 3-4 cops surrounding my house. I'm immediately thinking: What the fuck is this? These fuckers are either lost or looking for a fight tonight.
Becoming Public Enemy Number One.
As noted earlier, I did not grab proper protection when I met them outside the backdoor. That's as much as I can equate to trying to keep my cool because I was not nice from the start when they questioned who I was. As many fights as I've picked and uncomfortable stops I've endured, this was by far the most excessive show of force directed at me that I've ever experienced. To say it was a bit overwhelming is an understatement. After a short squabble with Officer NSync about names, he tells me the whole unit is there to arrest me.
Nope. I'm already triggered. More cops are swarming in and surrounding me. Those are not words you want to use around me, especially when I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that there is NO reason for Gwinnett to have a warrant for my arrest. In the most convoluted cop-jargon-filled way possible, the officer explains that my car tag was scanned on a FLOCK camera, and I popped up for a warrant. I take a seat on the stoup while I feel the clench in my chest, thoughts flood in every direction, and I have no clue what the heck the cop is going on about. A warrant? For what? Illegally scanned my tags? Why is Gwinnett in Hall County? Where's Hall County Sheriff on this? When did I go to Gwinnett today?
With four police in front of me, they tell me my 2016 speeding ticket that I had long put behind me wasn't satisfying enough on their end. They lost proof that I completed driving school. 8 years ago. Of course, they'll not confess they lost anything and it's my problem to deal with, now... eight years later, with not so much as a mailed letter from the county in all those years to say "hey, we don't have this." Is it any coincidence that I did a mass cleaning of documents and computer files at the beginning of this year due to storage capacity and verifying that all my stately contracts were fulfilled? When you get this far down their rabbit hole, you'd be surprised what you'll believe when it just lines up.
Everything I Need to Know About Police, I Learned From Police
Cops are the lowest forms of criminals on earth. They do everything criminals do, but they get away with it because there's an entire system built on extorting citizens that backs up these henchmen. There's only one truth about police, and that is: if their lips are moving, you can bet your ass you're being lied to.
No warrant was shown. Officer Pedo-looking-motherfucker looking like he stepped right out of the 80s with his mustache and gut hanging over is to the side making threats about my need to cooperate, while Office Latin-Leguizamo is on the phone, "confirming" the warrant. "If it's confirmed, you're going to jail," he says as if he's doing me a favor for double-checking, or something? Where is a black cop to fill out this DEI convention?!
I told them exactly what I thought about their overreach of authority, especially over a piece of paper from eight years ago. They didn't like my attitude. Surprise. And whatever authority was around at that hour of the evening signing off on warrants apparently didn't either and decided I was going to jail, or that's what Officer Latin-Leguizamo promised as he hung up his cellular device.
The supposed confirmation came through, but I know it's beyond bullshit, and I'm counting the ways in my head when they moved to arrest me. The law states I have a right to stand my ground and defend myself against wrongful arrest. I'm outnumbered in this pickle, though, and these guys can simply go fuck themselves in my mind if they're not going to listen to why they're wrong. I get up and turn to go back inside. They charge at me, taze me in the back, and tackle me down, now inside the doorway over my home. Yes, you read that right. They tased me over a piece of paper from 8 years ago. I presume my adrenaline is up because I only feel a pinch.
As we're all on the ground, and me possibly sitting on other cops in my doorway (I really don't recall because I became fixated on one of them), I hear my daughter and dogs behind us in the kitchen. Compliance is not an option at this point. The matrix just changed to give these agents the upper hand. One of the officers has me by the forearm, and that's the only one I'm focused on. 'Get out of my house, don't scare my dogs, I'll comply.' He doesn't get up. Cops don't like being told what to do, go figure. I make it clear he's a threat to my dogs (one is a protective pitbull). I tell my daughter to take the dogs to her room and lock the door and I can't see her, but I presume she has the dogs by the collar.
We sit there still on the floor inside my doorway--A/C freely cooling the outer world like I'm made of money and these kids were born in a barn. I repeat to the cop to not scare my dogs, and that I'll comply if we go back outside--him saying things like "don't resist" although there's absolutely no resistance. We're all literally there trying to figure out how to maneuver out of this position without losing our hand of advantage. There's none for me with four cops grappling me.
We get up and I'm pushed outside while they cuff me too tightly. They have no clue about dealing with someone who has anxiety and panic attacks, but I'm trying at this point to keep my mental together. It's pissing off Officer Latin-Leguizamo that I won't just sit on his hood. I want to pummel every one of them for their ignorance and lies and the jeopardy it was putting me in. For the past crimes carried out under the umbrella of protection police walk with--the blue code of justice. And what was my crime? Whose vendetta was this really?
No female officer present. No Miranda rights read. No Hall County Sheriff presence. No warrant present--because no warrant ever existed.
EMS came and checked me over despite my refusal. A protocol because the officer shot me in the back with a taser. I guess I should be grateful he pulled the non-lethal weapon considering the stories I have covered. Another officer also caught taser. Literally, he caught it in the finger. Karma, if you ask me, and I hope he had to write a long report.
I was put into the backseat of a cruiser and carted off to Gwinnett County Jail.
But Wait! There's More!
It was going to be a long night, and it would begin with the quietest car ride to jail. And not to breeze over the facilities and friends I made, but my cash bond was set for $400. Yep, cash bond. More paper for them to lose. My parents, bless them, arrived with cash at 2:15 AM to bail me out. But because the police found me "a bit mouthy" on arrival, they made my parents wait over two hours before releasing me. I made sure everyone was aware of the reason I was locked up. I wanted that to stew in their minds about how they locked up a single mother over a certificate of completion for driving school from 8 years ago. The wheels were spinning in some of them, but the point was not making it through. They took my money and released me around 4:20a.m.
The next day is hell after having been up for 30 hours straight. We realize I never received any details about my court date, so we call Gwinnett to find out more. "Renee" informs me that I didn't pay a bond at all, I actually paid a fee, and there is no court date. What fuckery is this? Now it's just a fine?! After a thorough reflection of eight years of police interaction (more than a dozen stops for random infractions from speeding to the pink lights that can't be on my car), including multiple background checks, involvement with another county search and rescue team where my background and discovery for any warrants was conducted; AND an investigation by DFCS, there's no way a warrant on my record went undiscovered for 8 years. It outright didn't exist before Monday night, and the police didn't just decide after 8 years to come knock on my door about it. I have been living at this address the entire time. It's not like they couldn't have come before 8 years. I had driven up the local road many times before, and never had a FLOCK camera pop my tag.
Contacting a lawyer was enlightening as one of them told me the warrant was still open. I could be arrested again at any time for the SAME unreal warrant. He provided the information for contacting the Clerk of Courts who further tried to milk me for more money by suggesting I could go back to driving school, or come down and talk to the judge (drive through the gauntlet of Gwinnett for round 2? I'm good, thanks!). I also contacted the school I attended who informed me that they don't keep records past five years. So to add fuel to this fire, the county falsified a warrant to come after me for a crime that THEY had no way of proving against me. I guess they also forgot that the burden of proof is on them, and I have two witnesses who can testify to my having completed the sentencing issued by our racial judge.
This brings us to day 2 of the ticking clock in which Gwinnett and Hall County have left to respond to my open records request. I am, stressed beyond explanation. Anxious. Terrified to leave my house. My likeness can be tracked on cameras across the state. My car tag could be scanned by cameras and cops for no reason, and I could be kidnapped by the police and extorted all over again.
Legally, I could fight back--to the death. As a mom, though, my first duty is to protect my family. And that means complying with these henchmen, even when I know they're wrong despite my right to stand my ground in the State of Georgia. This is also the reality of living in a surveillance state--a brewing war between real good and evil. Where your every move can be tracked, and a simple trip to the store can turn into a nightmare and lifelong trauma. This is the future, folks. This is Big Brother right at our doorstep. This mother witch knows that the fight against such insidious evil requires both mystical and practical action. I stand ready to challenge the system, to confront injustice with not only the power of my will but also the strength of my voice and unwavering resolve.
Are you ready for this? For your sake, I hope all your past tickets are in order.
More to come as this story develops.
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