So the story goes like this…. woman calls police after her truck was stolen… police arrive to take report… police arrest woman after her name comes up as having a warrant.

In case you’re wondering why the hell anyone would call the po-po if she was a wanted fugitive… well, probably because she wasn’t the one who was actually wanted!

The woman described in the story, Teresa Culpepper, ended up spending 53 days in Fulton County jail over an Atlanta police officers huge mistake.

Details + video below:

WSB-TV reports that authorities are trying sort out all the facts involving Culpepper, who spent 53 days in the Fulton County Jail.

Culpepper called police on Aug. 21, 2011 to report her truck had been taken and was arrested on an aggravated assault charge for which another woman named “Teresa” was wanted.

Culpepper’s attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, says Culpepper’s birth date, address and description didn’t even match the woman being sought.

“All she has is the same first name. The only descriptions that match are ‘Teresa’ and ‘black female,'”?Culpepper’s attorney, Ashleigh Merchant revealed.

Culpepper, who is 47,?didn’t have the same address, birth date, height, or weight as the Teresa who was supposed to be arrested.

Merchant says Culpepper, who was?legitimately?convicted of a misdemeanor in the 90s but otherwise has no criminal record, lives in a rough neighborhood where police are frequently on patrol.

Culpepper and and her family were unable to post the $12,000 bond to get her out of jail, so she was held 53 days over an officer’s assumption.

She wasn’t released until her public defender found the victim of the assault and brought him to the court to say Culpepper was not the “Teresa” he had accused.

“I just don’t think in another side of town this would have ever happened,” Merchant says.

Culpeppers attorney is seeking some sort of settlement with the City or they plan to sue. She also added that the police department is internally investigating the incident.

“I didn’t know what to do,” Culpepper told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I didn’t know how to get out this situation.”

I’m still trying to figure out why any officer of the muthaeffin law would lock up a person based on their first name only. Is this what y’all do now?

At any rate, Culpepper’s out now and the City of Atlanta needs to settle up! In the future… officers please remember to check both “first name, last name”.

Do you agree with Culpepper’s attorney that this wouldn’t have happened have happened in Roswell or Alpharetta (the more “affluent” side of town)?

Thoughts?

(source)