An elderly woman is cashing in on her experience with a City of Atlanta Police officer.? 62 year-old, Minne Carey filed suit against the APD police force after she says her civil rights were violated and she was falsely imprisoned.

Carey encountered APD officer Brandy Dolson when she and her friends were discussing a funeral outside of a local convenience store. Dolson asked the ladies to move and Carey asked “Why?”

That simple question caused the officer to handcuff the woman and cart her off to jail.

Around 4 p.m. on March 26, 2009, Carey and her friends were on the sidewalk in front of the Boulevard Lotto convenience store, just a few blocks from downtown Atlanta. The group had been talking a few minutes about funeral plans for a woman they all knew when Dolson and his partner pulled up.

Dolson told the women to ?move it.? Three of the women started walking away but Carey didn?t, asking ?why? instead.

Dolson?s answer to Carey was ?because I said so,? according to records.

?I?m a citizen and I?m a taxpayer and I have a right to be here. I?m merely trying to find out about a sister?s funeral,? Carey responded.

That’s when Carey was handcuffed, put in the back of the patrol car and eventually taken to jail on a city ordinance violation charge.

The Citizen Review Board found that Atlanta Police officer Brandy Dolson had violated APD policies and had falsely arrested Carey and now the Atlanta City Council is expected to agree pay $20,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the 62-year-old woman.

The lawsuit filed by Carey also said the city had not given Dolson proper training that might have led him to respond differently in his encounter with Carey and her friends on a sidewalk outside a convenience store.? Apparently, the officer has had other complaints filed against him.

The suit says APD has received over 10 complaints against Dolson but has ?failed to adequately investigate the claims and deter him from further misconduct.?

A council committee has accepted the city attorney?s recommendation to settle with Carey but the full council must approve it.

Carey spent almost 10 hours in jail on a charge of disorderly conduct brought by officer Brandy Dolson in the incident. The city and police have not admitted any wrongdoing.

Dolson has been suspended without pay for most of this year, but police say it?s for other, unrelated infractions.

There you have it… sometimes it pays to question authority!

(Source 1 and 2)