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Lawsuit claims DeKalb officers encouraged to make bad arrests

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A lawsuit against DeKalb County alleges the Police Department has a quota system which encourages officers to make bad arrests.
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Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh spoke exclusively with a former officer who says if officers don't make the quota, they face the consequences.
 
The officer said while it wasn't written into the rule book, it was effectively communicated and enforced. Channel 2 Action News agreed not to identify the officer, who now works for another agency.
 
"A rose by any other name is still a quota," said attorney Mark Bullman.
 
Bullman believes a quota system is encouraging some DeKalb County police officers to break the law.
 
His lawsuit alleges the quota "encouraged DeKalb County police officers to unlawfully detain, seize and search persons and/or their automobiles without reasonable suspicion or probable cause, regularly resulting in unlawful arrests."
 
"It's an absolute violation of someone's constitutional rights," Bullman said.
 
Bullman said his theory started with single bad arrest. A surveillance camera recorded it in 2012.
 
Bullman said the video shows a DeKalb officer planting marijuana on a man he later arrested. A grand jury later indicted Officer Demetrius Kendrick for violation of oath by public officer.
 
"This all led to us wondering why he would do something like this for such a small misdemeanor arrest," Bullman said.
 
He then obtained an audio recording of DeKalb's internal investigation into the officer and the arrest made by the neighborhood enforcement team or NET.

Kavanaugh obtained a portion of the interview from the detective:
 
Detective: "I know that if you don't make enough arrests or generate enough tickets or proactivity you won't be on the NET team for very long. "
 
Kendrick: "That's correct."
 
Detective: "So, did you feel an undue amount of stress on you to make an arrest here?"
 
Kendrick: "No, I just….."
 
Detective: "Because, I'll tell you, you don't have charges on the guy."
 
A former DeKalb officer attested to the alleged quota system and demands made on the officers.
 
"Hey you better average out to have at least two tickets and one arrest a day," the officer told Kavanaugh that was the message from command staff. "They're going to make some questionable arrests because they don't to feel the wrath of the department."
 
The former DeKalb County officer said officers were ranked based on the numbers arrests made and tickets issued. And, failing to make quota had consequences.
 
"Your work days you were assigned. What days off you would have. What hours you worked," the former officer said.
 
"When you are penalized for not making a quota or get a benefit a pat on the back, recognition or benefit for making a quota, it's a quota," Bullman said. "If you're arrested because a quota is being made, then I think there is a severe constitutional problem with that."
 
DeKalb County said they can't comment on the topic since it is pending litigation.
 
The case against Kendrick is also pending in DeKalb County Superior Court.