Apparently Georgia Police Departments Don’t Require IQ Tests

The Daily Tribune News – Cartersville, Georgia
Magistrate judge to decide if couple will be prosecuted for stalking officer

Staff report

Published February 13, 2007 11:06 PM CST

A Bartow County couple will go before a magistrate judge today to see if they will be arrested for allegedly stalking a Kennesaw police officer by installing cameras to track neighborhood speeders.

Lee and Teresa Sipple spent $1,200 mounting three video cameras and a radar speed unit outside their home, which is at the bottom of a hill. They have said they did so in hopes of convincing neighbors to slow down to create a safe environment for their son.

The Sipples allegedly caught Kennesaw police officer Richard Perrone speeding up to 17 mph over the speed limit. Perrone alerted Bartow authorities, who in turn visited the Sipples home to tell them Perrone intended to press charges against them for stalking.

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Now maybe in them back woods of Georgia the rules are different, but out here in the rest of the world ‘stalking’ generally requires a specific victim and a repetition of action. For instance, if I see Angelina Jolie on the street and I say ‘hi’ I’m not stalking; but if I start following her around saying ‘hi’ every fifteen feet then I am.

These folks, the Sipples, set up a radar gun and cameras to catch some speeders. Pleural, as in no specific targets in mind. Like walking down the street and saying ‘hi’ to everyone you meet. Where I live we call that a ‘neighborhood watch’. Just so happens one of the folks they encountered was breaking the law, who happened to be a cop, and who then falsely accuses them of breaking the law to hide his own guilt. You would think he would know the definition of ‘stalking’, but it just may be the word has too many syllables for him to know the meaning.

If the gods have any justice in them, the charges against the Sipples will be dismissed as unsupported by the evidence, Richard Perrone will avoid a speeding ticket because the radar gear isn’t calibrated, but he will lose his job for filing false charges. Karma is a bitch, and this cop desperately needs to be bitch-slapped.

Chris Knight