Georgia couple catches neighborhood speeder ... a cop

So the couple are in the wrong!

A Bartow County couple is fighting back against neighborhood speeders. Lee and Teresa Sipple live at the bottom of a steep hill outside of Rome and say most motorists ignore the posted speed limit and zoom by their house, endangering them and their 2-year-old son. But now, fighting back could land them in jail. Lee and Teresa Sipple have an upcoming court date to see if they will be arrested for messing with a cop.

“My little boy, I don’t, I don’t want him hurt,” Lee Sipple told Channel 2. Lee and his wife, Teresa are tired of neighborhood speeders. “Not that I’m going to teach my child to play out in the street but when they come off that hill, they’re just cooking! I mean, I’ve got people going 50 and 46, a 42, a 37,” explained Lee.

How does Lee know their actual speed? He went out and purchased a radar. “I’m not trying to get the folks in trouble per se, I’m just trying to slow them down and if they see the radar, they may slow down – but it hasn’t happened yet,” Lee said. So Lee took it one step further. “I mean, and I figured, well as much as I hate to do it…” He and his wife spent $1,200 on cameras that capture the evidence. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” said Lee. “It’s not something I can make up. You can sit here and watch it work, as a car goes by.” Lee has three different cameras trained on the street to catch local speeders red-handed. “Video evidence – same thing as the red light cameras – and I can grab it, print it, send it, e-mail it…” Lee said.

Lee says his most surprising catch yet? A neighbor who ought to know better. “Kennesaw police officer, you know, coming down the hill and running 34 miles per hour in a 25 mile an hour zone.” And Lee says it happens quite often. “Oh, I’ve caught him going 42, 37, going up the hill, down the hill, all kinds of speeds.”

The Kennesaw officer is named Richard Perrone – he declined our request for an interview. Kennesaw police say they’ve talked with the Sipples, but can’t interfere in another county’s business. “We continue to talk to the officer to continue to find out his side, but it’s ultimately going to come down to Bartow County. It’s their jurisdiction for them to investigate it and enforce the traffic laws in their jurisdiction,” said Officer Scott Luther.

Turns out, Bartow County did get involved, when their deputy knocked on the Sipple’s front door. “Lo and behold, she’s there trying to figure out if she’s going to arrest me or not for harassing him,” said Lee. That’s right. Perrone is seeking a warrant in Bartow County Court to have Lee and Teresa locked up for stalking.

“I was under the impression that I wasn’t supposed to be scared of the police, but this officer…he’s trying to poke at me, trying to intimidate me, trying to harass me,” Lee said. “I live here, I can’t retreat, I can’t go no further back. I mean, what am I to do?”

According to the warrant affidavit filed by Officer Perrone, he says the Sipples did harass him by sending his employer multiple e-mails in an effort to get him in trouble. Kennesaw Police say they are investigating and have counseled Perrone before for improperly flashing his badge at the Sipples. A judge will hear Perrone’s stalking application February 14.

Report here





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