Footage shows deputy cursing, wrestling woman to ground
Sheriff Kevin Chaney
The Camden County Sheriff’s Office said it’s investigating the actions of its deputies after a viral video began circulating online earlier this week, according to a news release from the law enforcement agency.
The news release does not reference the video, but earlier this week, the body camera footage from two deputies involved in an early-morning Jan. 2 arrest was shared on a YouTube channel.
The edited footage depicts the arrest of 27-year-old Trakaejhia Monae James, 27, of St. Marys, who was charged with two counts of misdemeanor willful obstruction of law enforcement officers and 36-year-old Kingsland resident Mark Patrick Griffin, who was charged with felony fugitive from justice.
The arrest shows a deputy speaking with James during a traffic stop in Kingsland. In the video, the deputy asks James to step out of her vehicle several times after she doesn’t immediately produce her driver’s license. The woman was stopped for a malfunctioning taillight, according to the video.
“You can step out or I’m gonna take you out,” the deputy tells the woman. “I’m going to yank you out of the car. I’m not telling you again. And then you’re going to jail.”
As the deputy speaks with the woman in the car, James walks up to the scene and identifies himself as the woman’s boyfriend.
“Get the (expletive) off my scene,” the deputy shouts at James. “What you walking up on my scene for? Get off my scene. Get off my scene, bro.”
At that point, the woman is out of the car, and the deputy wrestles her to the ground and handcuffs her.
“(Expletive) around and find out,” the deputy says as he’s handcuffing the woman.
The deputy continues to yell expletives during the arrest and tells Griffin he’s going to jail. The woman tells the deputy she recently injured her back in a car wreck.
“You did obstruct,” the deputy said. “I want you in jail. I’m not here to help you, bro. Go to jail.”
Griffin is handcuffed by a second deputy.
The second deputy is later heard speaking on his body camera with a Kingsland Police Department officer.
“(The deputy) was fighting a girl because the girl wouldn’t hop out of the car,” that deputy says. “He had pulled her out. She wouldn’t put her hands behind her back. And then her boyfriend showed up out of nowhere. He wouldn’t leave.”
The sheriffs’ office said the incident is “undergoing an internal review to ensure actions were consistent with established policy, training and professional standards.”
“Law enforcement is a challenging profession, and our deputies are asked to make decisions every day while serving the public,” Camden County Sheriff Kevin Chaney said in a news release. “I remain committed to our employees and to the citizens of Camden County. We are committed to serving this community with professionalism and transparency, and that means we will communicate openly when things go well and when they do not.”
The news release said deputies are guided by state law, agency policy and training during traffic stops.
“Community members are encouraged to follow lawful instructions during a stop, as doing so helps reduce confusion, prevent situations from escalating, and allows the interaction to be resolved as safely and efficiently as possible,” the news release said. “Any questions or concerns can always be addressed afterward through appropriate channels.”
In the video, the arresting officer is heard talking with James’ family members who arrived on scene while she was handcuffed in the back of a patrol vehicle.
“She turned what would have been a warning into an arrest because of her attitude,” the deputy tells a woman who identified herself as James’ mother. “it sounds like she’s been enabled her whole life into believing that when she does wrong she don’t do no wrong. She still ain’t taken no responsibility for her action tonight, and that’s why she’s in handcuffs.”
The viral video of the incident can be found at https://tinyurl.com/5c3hu7cw.