At what point is a routine traffic stop no longer routine?
When someone in the car has an AR-15 and a ski mask.
It was just before 2 p.m. on a sunny Saturday afternoon in mid-January when a Henry County Police Department officer stopped a vehicle for what officials called “a minor traffic violation.” The exact location was not identified in the report posted on the department’s Facebook page, but the officer was identified as Officer Dempsey and was working out of the South Precinct.
“His investigation could have stopped there,” according to the report. “However, he chose to look beyond the stop and noticed what appeared to be a firearm between the legs of one of the passengers covered by a black jacket.”
As it turned out, the hidden weapon was an AR-15 with a 45-round magazine. When the officer recovered the rifle, he found a black ski mask that was hidden along with it under the jacket. The outside temperature at the time of the incident was 69 degrees Fahrenheit, according to officials – not exactly ski mask weather.
“Officer Dempsey identified all of the passengers and completed a field interview report for use in possibly identifying the passengers in crimes that may have already occurred,” the report stated. “The suspect with the firearm and ski mask was charged with a weapons violation.”
The officer was named South Precinct Officer of the Month for January “because his actions may quite possibly have prevented a crime from occurring later that day.”
The January honoree for the North Precinct was Officer D. Richardson, who made the best of a January 2 situation that left three young people without their mother for a time. Upon her arrest for battery, he took custody of the three juveniles and transported them to the precinct, where he kept them entertained throughout the day and even bought them pizza out of his own pocket after learning that the children had not eaten all day.
“Officer Richardson’s kind heart and empathetic actions exemplify the professionalism that the Henry County Police Department is known for,” according to an official statement recognizing him for his actions.
Both announcements recognizing these officers were released the last week of February.
