Officer quits after cursing at grandmother during traffic stop

A Georgia police officer has resigned amid an internal investigation into his conduct after he forcefully arrested a 65-year-old grandmother who had been pulled over in a traffic stop on Friday, May 4.

Rose Campbell was stopped for failing to maintain her lane while making a turn, the arresting officer said in dash cam video of the incident.

“Hey, you’re not in charge. Shut the f--- up and get out of the car,” officer James Legg shouted at Campbell when he arrived on the scene.

He proceeds to forcefully pull her out of the vehicle, causing Campbell to scream. At one point she says she expects to have a heart attack.

Another officer had pulled her over and requested backup when she failed to exit her vehicle.

She reportedly refused to sign a citation she’d been issued, and was arrested for disorderly conduct for gripping her seatbelt as the officer tried to force her out of the vehicle.

Alpharetta Public Safety Chief John Robinson condemned Legg’s conduct in a Facebook video message Thursday.

“As I was watching the video, I had some major concerns about what I was seeing. There are aspects of this video that you’re likely about to watch that simply do not represent who we are as an organization,” he said.

“Upon reviewing the video I immediately ordered that an internal affairs investigation be opened on the incident and once a detailed investigation is completed I can assure you there will be a decisive and appropriate outcome following that investigation.”

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Robinson said he appeared on camera in order to maintain a transparent relationship with the Alpharetta community.

Legg defended his conduct in a letter announcing his resignation Friday.

“I feel I acted appropriately and the way that I was trained when I arrested Ms. Campbell,” he wrote.

“I did what was necessary to complete the arrest by raising my voice and using verbal commands using heavy control talk with profanity. It worked instantly and she exited the vehicle immediately!” he wrote.

He later concedes: “Maybe I should not have used profanity.”

Campbell told Channel 2 Action News she was shocked by the incident.

“I didn’t expect that in America,” she said. “I didn’t expect that in Atlanta. I didn’t expect that especially in Alpharetta,” she said.

Campbell told Channel 2 that she didn’t think Legg should be fired but that officers should be retrained.

She’s considering taking legal action.