The United States is a big country. Pockets of it remain a disgrace to our nation. It appears that
Zebulon, Georgia (named for Zebulon Pike, the person after whom Pike's Peak is named), is one such place.
Two recently reported incidents remind us. In one recounted in a court opinion, two black college students, were stopped by a cop for speeding. The disturbing description quoted below from the court opinion explains what happened.
In a second case, a judge in Pike County (which has Zebulon as its county seat), has issued an arrest warrant because a man has a web site critical of the local department of social services. See also here. The ACLU's complaint and brief lay out the situation in depth.
The Two Black College Students Arrested For Speeding
In the case ofthe two black college students arrest for speeding, the court opinion strongly implies that the cop lied about what happened making up evidence that was not corroborated by a videotape of the initial arrest to justify his actions.
According to two accounts, the cop said that "he is the judge and jury in Zebulon" and would "send you niggers away for a long time."
In the jail, despite learning that an arrest warrant he found was for someone else, he proceeded to a brutual "strip search" in a closet at the jail. He put one of the men in a choke hold until he gagged, threw the other man against him, both naked, and stuck his baton upon the anus of first one and then the other (without even purportig to clean it in between). Repeated pat down searches and a search of the car at the time of the arrest (and a determination that there was no warrant of arrest outstanding) made clear that there was no suspicion that either had drugs or contraband at the time. The cop told them that he didn't like "you boys in my town. I don't want niggers here anyway." "While he penetrated [their] anuses with his baton he said that [they] had "better get used to this, this is how it is in the big house, this is where you [sic] getting ready to go. Somebody is going to be butt fucking you for the next twenty years, all because you got a smart mouth."
The cop argued that this wasn't a clear violation of the Constitution. The trial court disagreed. A three judge panel of the appellate court reversed the trial court. The appellate court, sitting en banc, affirmed the trial court's finding that the cop was in the wrong and should have known it (if the facts were as alleged).
Conclusion
Zebulon, first, graphically reminds us that there are plenty of places in this nation that do not share the values of a civilized, modern society. The notion that freedom of speech, or the sacred obligations to treat criminal defendants with some decency and fairness, seems to be beyond the comprehension of the people who run that small Georgia town.
There is nothing too notable about Zebulon. It is a small town in a small county in rural Northern Georgia. The federal courts are intervening twice this week because it crossed the line. And, incidents like these no doubt go under the radar screen in hundreds of towns like it every year.
Without the federal government, Zebulon would probably fester and be allowed to terrorize its residents and those who pass through. With the federal government, there may be justice. This is worth considering as we consider the notion of "states rights" in an effort allow the rest of the nation to move forward a little faster.