Update On Canadian Jailed In Georgia

Previously on Marked Hoosier...

A 23-year-old Carleton University master's student is outraged and demanding an apology from Georgia officials after spending more than 11 uncomfortable hours in a detention centre for running a stop sign and speeding.

While I was rereading the article, trying to decipher if this was part of a first step Georgia was taking so they could do background checks on all foreigners... I noticed that there was already a follow-up to the article saying that Georgia was double checking to make sure all proper procedures were followed. Well honestly, I was like WOW. I tell ya when Canada calls, people jump! Anyway... now Georgia admits that mistakes were made.

Glynn County Sheriff Wayne Bennett said Cheryl Kuehn, a 23-year-old Carleton University master’s student who was driving through Georgia on her way to a Florida vacation, should have been released within an hour of her arrest.

As a foreign national brought to the Glynn County Detention Centre, Mrs. Kuehn was subject to a simple check to see if she was legally in the United States — a procedure that normally takes no more than an hour, according to Sheriff Bennett. Sheriff Bennett said this is the first time a foreign national has been detained so long on minor violations.

“And it damn well better be the last,” he said.
Because she was arrested on minor charges, “she should have been able to post bond and be released,” he said.

An internal investigation by the sheriff’s office, expected to last seven days, so far has found that at least two officers failed to follow protocol while processing Mrs. Kuehn, said Sheriff Bennett.

Depending on their disciplinary history, the officers face consequences ranging from being suspended without pay to losing their jobs.

That last part troubles me... that it will all be blamed on the officers. Ever notice that when "the fit hits the shan," that it is always the fault of the people at the bottom of the totem pole? (Oh and a side note, can I use any more clichés?) I think that mistakes were inevitable because law enforcement were implementing new procedures to comply with the new Georgia laws being passed concerning illegal aliens. I would bet money that other foreigners were given the same treatment, and I bet that they didn't come from Canada.