Southeast
Georgia city to pay $55,000, train officers on free speech after veteran arrested for 'panhandling'
![Georgia city to pay ,000, train officers on free speech after veteran arrested for 'panhandling' Georgia city to pay ,000, train officers on free speech after veteran arrested for 'panhandling'](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/panhandling-alpharetta-ga.gif)
A city in Georgia will change its free speech policies and pay $55,000 to settle a lawsuit, more than two years after police arrested a veteran for allegedly panhandling.
Jeff Gray, an Army veteran and self-described First Amendment auditor, frequently travels around the southeast, stands on public property, and holds a sign saying “God bless the homeless vets.” He does this to test officials’ reactions, and frequently captures video of police who accuse him of illegal protesting or panhandling.
Police handcuffed and detained Jeff Gray in Alpharetta, Georgia, after people complained that he was panhandling outside city hall. Gray said he wasn’t asking for money, simply holding a sign, but panhandling is protected under the First Amendment anyway. (Courtesy of Lacy Jessica Photography)
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In January 2022, Gray’s camera was rolling while he held his sign outside Alpharetta City Hall and called out, “God bless the homeless vets” to people who passed by. Soon, a police lieutenant approached him and said two people had reported Gray for panhandling.
“I’m not panhandling, I’m just saying, ‘God bless the homeless veterans’ on public property,” Gray can be heard saying in the video as Lt. Arick Furr handcuffed him. Furr also took Gray’s camera and turned it off, telling Gray it was to preserve the battery, according to audio still being recorded on Gray’s Apple Watch.
Another officer “joined in the detention” and “interrogated and berated Gray before eventually releasing him” without charges, according to the lawsuit. But when he tried to resume his sign-holding, police again asked him to leave, and Gray complied.
With the help of the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), Gray sued the city of Alpharetta in 2023.
The city settled last month, agreeing to change its policies and pay $55,000. Most of that will go to Gray, while a portion will pay his lawyers.
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“Alpharetta officers tried to run [Gray] out of town because they thought holding a sign was disorderly conduct,” FIRE attorney Adam Steinbaugh said in a statement. “They’ll think twice next time.”
The city must also provide “two hours of First Amendment training” to each officer per year in 2024 and 2025. The training will mostly focus on freedom of speech and its relationship with assembly rights, the right to record police activity, the use of profanity toward officers and refusals to answer officers’ questions, according to the settlement.
Alpharetta officials and Furr’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Even if Gray had been panhandling, the First Amendment protects people’s right to ask others for money, FIRE pointed out. Yet police in the city of about 67,000 residents stopped people on numerous occasions and threatened them with citations or arrest, according to public records obtained by FIRE.
Police are now prohibited from making blanket statements that panhandling is illegal, according to Alpharetta’s new policy, which took effect July 18.
“However, officers may explain that ordinances or state law limits panhandling in certain areas or manners, provided that explanation accurately conveys existing ordinances or state law,” the new policy adds.
Alpharetta officers accused of violating the First Amendment will also face a higher level of internal investigation, according to FIRE.
![Jeff Gray](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1723680569_698_Georgia-city-to-pay-55000-train-officers-on-free-speech.png)
Army veteran and retired truck driver Jeff Gray frequently tests officials’ response to activities he says are protected by the First Amendment, like holding a sign on public property. (Courtesy of Lacy Jessica Photography)
FIRE also represented Gray in lawsuits against two other Georgia cities.
In Blackshear, police cited Gray for holding his sign without a permit, and in Port Wentworth, Gray was arrested for refusing to leave the area outside city hall where he was holding his sign, according to the lawsuits.
Both lawsuits were settled last year.
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Southeast
Staff members at dentist's office read aloud, mock cancer patient's private diary: video
![Staff members at dentist's office read aloud, mock cancer patient's private diary: video Staff members at dentist's office read aloud, mock cancer patient's private diary: video](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Toothpaste.jpg)
A Tennessee dental office has fired staff involved in a viral video mocking a cancer patient’s personal diary, according to a statement.
The video, posted to Snapchat originally, was captioned “Found a patients journal and now its story time lmao.” The staff members present are heard laughing while the journal entry details cancer treatment progress.
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In the video, Premier Dental Group staff can be seen reading the diary aloud in the office. It is unknown to whom the journal belongs.
28 December 2023, Lower Saxony, Norden: Toothpaste from a tube is applied to a toothbrush. (Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Some of the journal entry reads, “I’m not going to do any dialysis, radiation treatment or infusions.” Staff members present in the video laugh at the options presented and concerns the patient has over them.
Since the video has been posted, the Premier Dental Group of Knoxville has been bombarded on public pages like Yelp with negative reviews.
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“Premier Dental Group of Knoxville has become aware of an incident where employees were involved in videoing inappropriate behavior. This conduct is completely unacceptable and does not align with our company values,” Premier Dental Group of Knoxville wrote in a statement on Google.
“As a result, the employees responsible have been terminated, effective immediately. We are committed to maintaining a respectful and professional environment for everyone, and we will continue to take necessary actions to uphold these standards.”
It is unknown how many staff members participated in the video or who read the patient’s journal.
Premier Dental Group of Knoxville did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
Four Georgia men arrested for theft of cooking oil in bulk: Police
![Four Georgia men arrested for theft of cooking oil in bulk: Police Four Georgia men arrested for theft of cooking oil in bulk: Police](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/gasuspects.png)
Four men were arrested in Cartersville, Georgia, for the theft of cooking oil in bulk from several businesses, according to police.
Carlos Laguna, 41, of Buford; Freddy Valencia Aguirre, 36, of Tucker; Luis Gaitan-Obando, 41, of DeKalb County, and Yunier Eliuth Aguirre-Polanco, 24, of Atlanta, are all suspected of bulk theft of cooking oil from various restaurants in Cartersville, according to the Cartersville Police Department.
This comes following a six-month investigation, police said.
Police said the suspects may be responsible for similar thefts that have been reported across metro Atlanta.
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Carlos Laguna, Freddy Aguirre, Luis Gaitan-Obando and Yunier Eliuth Aguirre-Polanco are accused of bulk theft of cooking oil. (Cartersville Police)
The four men are also believed to be associated with a Gwinnett County criminal organization, police said.
Laguna was charged with theft by taking and possession of tools for the commission of a crime, and has posted a $3,000 bond.
Aguirre faces two counts of theft by taking and two counts of possession of tools for the commission of a crime. He has posted a $6,000 bond.
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![Police siren](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1723629503_11_Four-Georgia-men-arrested-for-theft-of-cooking-oil-in.png)
Police said the suspects may be responsible for similar thefts that have been reported across metro Atlanta. (iStock)
Gaitan-Obando was charged with theft by taking, possession of tools for the commission of a crime and criminal attempt to commit a misdemeanor. He remains in custody in the Bartow County Jail on a $4,500 bond.
Aguirre-Polanco faces charges of criminal attempt to commit a misdemeanor and theft by taking, and has posted a $3,000 bond.
The Gwinnett County Police Department is assisting in the investigation.
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
Nashville police say Riley Strain had 12-15 drinks before college student’s death: report
![Nashville police say Riley Strain had 12-15 drinks before college student’s death: report Nashville police say Riley Strain had 12-15 drinks before college student’s death: report](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/image-24-1.jpg)
Riley Strain, the University of Missouri student who disappeared from a night out in Nashville in March before his body was found along the Cumberland River, was served 12 to 15 drinks prior to his death, according to a police investigation.
A medical examiner determined that Strain, 22, had a blood alcohol level of .228% and died of drowning and ethanol poisoning, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) investigation report obtained by WSMV4 Investigates.
MNPD’s investigation also paints a clearer picture as to how Strain consumed so much alcohol in one night while on a spring formal trip to Nashville with his UM fraternity, which began on a bus ride from Missouri to Tennessee – about a 6.5-hour drive.
That’s when the drinking began, despite the bus driver’s strict no-alcohol rule, according to the report obtained by WSMV4.
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Riley Strain was last seen out with friends on Broadway Street in Nashville on the evening of March 8. His body was recovered in the Cumberland River on March 22. (Family handout)
The business and finance student apparently had at least five drinks on the way to Nashville on March 8, including vodka shots and IPAs. When they arrived around 4:30 p.m., they went to a Mexican restaurant downtown, where Strain was seen on surveillance footage drinking a margarita.
Surveillance footage showed Strain began stumbling around 8:40 that evening, according to WSMV4. He was asked to leave Luke’s 32 Bridge on Broadway after 9:30 p.m., after which Strain began walking in the general direction of his hotel and disappeared.
![A photo of Luke's 32 bar beneath a smaller photo of Riley Strain](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1723578268_20_Nashville-police-say-Riley-Strain-had-12-15-drinks-before-college.jpg)
Riley Strain was last seen at Luke Bryan’s bar in downtown Nashville before his body was found in the Cumberland River. (Google Maps | A Voice for the Voiceless)
“At 9:35 p.m., our security team made a decision based on our conduct standards to escort him from the venue through our Broadway exit at the front of our building,” the bar said in a March 15 statement. “He was followed down the stairs with one member of his party. The individual with Riley did not exit and returned upstairs.”
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![Riley Strain selfie](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1723578268_948_Nashville-police-say-Riley-Strain-had-12-15-drinks-before-college.jpg)
Riley Strain’s phone last pinged between 10 and 10:30 p.m. in the area of Public Square Park, located near the sheriff’s office and the Cumberland River, according to FOX 17. (Facebook)
The Tennessee Alcohol Beverage Commission previously ruled that Strain had not been overserved after conducting its own investigation that involved reviewing security camera footage. It remains unclear exactly how and where Strain consumed between 12 and 15 drinks on March 8.
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![Surveillance video showing Riley Strain](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1723578268_394_Nashville-police-say-Riley-Strain-had-12-15-drinks-before-college.jpg)
Mizzou student Riley Strain, 22, disappeared March 8 in downtown Nashville before his body was found in the Cumberland River. (The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)
The footage reviewed by TABC apparently did not show Strain visibly drunk, as WSMV4 reported.
Video footage shared by MNPD after Strain’s death showed the 22-year-old stumbling as he walked away from downtown and in the direction of the river.
![David Flagg, United Cajun Navy, left, embraces Michelle Strain Whiteid moments before a press conference to update the public about the disappearance of University of Missouri student Riley Strain](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1723578268_186_Nashville-police-say-Riley-Strain-had-12-15-drinks-before-college.jpg)
David Flagg embraces Michelle Strain Whiteid, Riley Strain’s mother, moments before a press conference at Public Square Park in Nashville, March 19, 2024. (Denny Simmons/The Tennessean via USA Today)
Approximately two weeks after Strain disappeared, on March 22, a worker at a company based along the Cumberland River reported seeing a body to police, who were later able to confirm Strain’s identity.
Strain is remembered in his obituary for his commitment to service, dedicating more than 500 hours to the Wonders of Wildlife; his love for hunting, fishing and spending time with his family; and his passion for “good food.”
Read the full article from Here
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