NAACP responds to dismissed ticket given during Thunder Task Force operation

WARNER ROBINS — During the Thunder Task Force’s enforcement last weekend, citizen and Uber driver Law Dixon was pulled over and given a citation by Georgia State Patrol. Troopers believed Dixon had a cell phone in his hand while driving.

“A spotter reported to another state trooper to pull Mr. Dixon over, and he was asked that Mr. Dixon was on his cell phone, however, Mr. Dixon was trying to explain to them he was not on his cell phone,” Houston County NAACP President Jonathan Johnson said. “Instead, he received a citation for this offense.” 

Dixon posted a dashcam video of the traffic stop on his Facebook page; the video received many reactions and shares. After the video was posted, Johnson said the state trooper called Dixon back after he tried to file a complaint. The ticket was then dismissed. 

“Once [the ticket] was dismissed, Mr. Dixon was still feeling like his rights were violated, so he got in touch with me and we looked into the matter,” he said. 

Johnson said Dixon felt like he was given no respect, due to the trooper’s demeanor.

“If you look at the video, [Dixon] is telling him that he’s got a camcorder and the officer is not even listening to him,” he said. “If he had paid [Dixon] some attention and listened to him then he may have seen the situation without ever writing a ticket and causing Mr. Dixon all this harm.” 

In response to the incident, Johnson contacted the Georgia State Patrol’s Office in Perry. 

He talked with the Lieutenant and he assured Johnson that they had made a mistake. 

“I was explaining to him about this spotter, and he agreed with me that the spotter was in the wrong because he was the one who saw the cell phone and there was no cell phone,” he said. “We’re glad that Mr. Dixon had a dashcam in his car because that is what saved him from receiving a ticket on this false accusation.”

Johnson said the NAACP is currently working towards getting some type of disciplinary action against the GSP spotter. The GSP Lieutenant told Johnson he would find out who the spotter was and get back in touch with him. 

“He shouldn’t have caused Mr. Dixon all this heartache, and it shouldn’t have been called on him as he wasn’t breaking the law,” he said.  “Something should be put in his file because he is out here accusing citizens of something they haven’t done.” 

Johnson shared that if Mr. Dixon were to receive the ticket, it would negatively affect his contract with Uber, his insurance, and would have caused his family disadvantages they didn’t deserve. 

In Johnson’s opinion, he did not think this incident was a form of racism but a problem with the procedure handled by GSP. 

“With the officer being a spotter who calls in another officer and nobody can see anything because it’s just a car passing by, I don’t think you have that good of a visual with someone just passing by,” he said.  

Johnson and Dixon have spoken heavily about the incident that occurred. He said Dixon is glad attention has been put on his situation. Dixon is also relieved and happy he did not lose his contract with Uber, as that is his sole source of income. 

Johnson shared that law enforcement can learn from this incident. 

“I believe until someone is proven guilty and if they are guilty they still deserve a certain amount of dignity, meaning you can talk to them and treat them like a good citizen like Mr. Dixon was,” he said. “[Mr. Dixon] is a good citizen and he shouldn’t have been treated that way. As soon as the lights came on, Mr. Dixon pulled over to the right side of the road and followed the officer’s instructions.” 

With events like Operation Rolling Thunder, Johnson feels like the law enforcement entities involved should all meet together beforehand. He believes these events should be more about protecting the people than hurting them. 

“They took an oath to serve and protect, and the citizens here are the ones that pay their  paychecks. They should talk to them with respect, and [the citizens] should respect them as well,” he said.