http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toron...for-driving-with-a-canadian-licence-1.4648561
An Ontario woman is looking for an apology from the Georgia police officer who arrested, handcuffed and charged her because she was driving with a Canadian licence.
"It was the most horrendous incident of my life," said Emily Nield. "It was mortifying. I was terrified the entire time."
About a month ago, the 27-year-old was driving through Georgia to Tennessee, where she had just completed a master's degree in geology. Nield's route took her along the I-75, which is often used by Canadians making the trek to and from Florida.
"She kept saying, 'No, Canadian licences are not accepted,'" said Nield. "I was flabbergasted. I just kept saying this can't be right — a Canadian licence is always valid."
Nield told CBC Toronto she was then asked to prove she was Canadian and although she had copies of her passport, Nexus card, and birth certificate on her phone, the officer wanted to see an original hard copy.
"When I failed to produce it, she reached through the window of my car and she put handcuffs on me," said Nield.
"She told me that I have just been arrested for driving without a licence and that I needed to go to jail."
One of her friends was able to determine her location in Adel, through a feature on SnapChat, and called the sheriff's office in Cook County, Ga.
Nield said she was permitted to speak to her friend, but her requests to speak to the Canadian Consulate or her parents went unanswered.
She said police told her she would remain in jail until her court appearance on June 12, unless she paid an $880 US bond in cash, which she didn't have.
Eventually she was allowed to use her debit card and post her own bail. Nield said she also had to pay $200 to remove her car from the impound.
She stayed in the States while trying to get the charges dismissed and the arrest expunged, with the help of a friend's father, who is a lawyer in Virginia, and the Canadian Consulate.
Three days after Nield's arrest, Matthew Bennett, the Cook County probate court solicitor, agreed the charges should be dismissed and the judge signed off on it.
"I just felt like it probably became a bigger deal than it should have been considering that she was here studying — no prior trouble," said Bennett.
He said the court, in consultation with Nield's attorney, is taking measures to erase her arrest record. As of last week, he estimated it could take another couple of weeks to do so.
"Make sure that you have your passport or supporting documents along with your driver's licence," said Bennett. "I know I would if I was in a foreign country."
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