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Code enforcement officer fired after entering woman's bedroom
ajc.com ^ | 7-10-12 | Christopher Seward

Posted on 07/10/2012 10:44:31 AM PDT by rawhide

What would you do if you found a burly county agent in your bedroom, demanding that you cut your grass?

Erica Masters of Martinez in Columbia County,near Augusta,captured such an encounter recently on her home surveillance camera when code compliance officer Jimmy Vowell entered her bedroom to demand she come out to sign a summons.

"He let himself in and actually came through the house and into my bedroom and yelled at me to wake me up to let me know that I needed to come back outside and sign the violation notice," Masters told WJBF-TV News Channel 6 station in Augusta.

"I woke up, I didn't have my glasses on or my contacts in and all I see is this big burly figure standing in my doorway," she said. "A big huge guy with a grey shirt. It scared the mess out of me."

The video shows Vowell at the front door, then moments later walking slowly through the home and peering into rooms. Moments later Masters is seen nervously walking through the home.

Vowell, who first denied he'd entered Master's home, was fired Monday over the incident.

In a Facebook posting, Vowell said he called out to Masters several times before entering after he said he smelled something, according to the Columbia County News-Times.

"It was a violation of policy as it relates to entering a house without permission and making a false statement to a supervisor," Columbia County Administrator Scott Johnson told the News-Times. If a code compliance officer found cause to enter a home, a law enforcement officer would have to accompany him or her, officials said.

Masters, who plans to sue, said she called 911 after the incident but the operator did not alert the authorities after she found out Vowell was a compliance officer.

(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events; US: Georgia
KEYWORDS: augusta; bedroom; code; columbiacounty; donutwatch; enforcement; georgia; jimmyvowell; officer
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Video at link showing him walking through the woman's house. One thing that bothers me is why was her door unlocked? That is so stupid!
1 posted on 07/10/2012 10:44:42 AM PDT by rawhide
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To: rawhide

lucky he only got fired, didn’t take a load of buckshot to the chest. Idiot.


2 posted on 07/10/2012 10:46:53 AM PDT by tgusa (gun control: deep breath, sight alignment, squeeze the trigger .......)
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To: rawhide
he said he smelled something

Tuna?

3 posted on 07/10/2012 10:47:36 AM PDT by bmwcyle (Corollary - Electing the same person over and over and expecting a different outcome is insanity)
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To: rawhide

Makes you wonder how many times he has done this before where the homeowner DIDN’T have camera’s - without the video it would have been his word against hers.....


4 posted on 07/10/2012 10:50:15 AM PDT by conservativehusker (Ben Nelson makes me ashamed to be a Nebraskan. (Kinda like Bill Calahan once did))
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To: rawhide

I suspect alcohol was involved. Beefy fellow looks like he enjoys his beer. Probably a six-pack per day habit.


5 posted on 07/10/2012 10:53:33 AM PDT by PowderMonkey (WILL WORK FOR AMMO)
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To: rawhide

A commenter on one news website said that a roommate left the door unlocked. Of course, the fired man’s stepdaughter commented that we don’t know the inside story of what REALLY happened.


6 posted on 07/10/2012 10:53:42 AM PDT by FreedomOfExpression
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To: rawhide
What would you do if you found a burly county agent in your bedroom, demanding that you cut your grass?

Shoot him?

7 posted on 07/10/2012 10:54:45 AM PDT by Yashcheritsiy (not voting for the lesser of two evils)
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To: conservativehusker

Kind of like when the cop claims the motorist “resisted” or became “belligerent” and the cop “had to use force to subdue them.” Then it turns out that the cop’s car camera “malfunctioned” and there is no tape of the incident.

Only when YOU capture it on camera does it actually show up. You can only count on government cameras working to capture Joe Citizen’s wrongdoings.


8 posted on 07/10/2012 10:55:08 AM PDT by henkster (We're the slaves of the phony leaders...)
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To: rawhide

I’m going to go out on a limb here....

But I’m guessing he was union.


9 posted on 07/10/2012 10:55:43 AM PDT by RandallFlagg (Obama hates Mexicans (Fast and Furious))
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To: FreedomOfExpression
...fired man’s stepdaughter commented that we don’t know the inside story of what REALLY happened.

We have the video, so we know what really happened. What else could she been alluding to?

10 posted on 07/10/2012 10:56:58 AM PDT by rawhide
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To: Yashcheritsiy

>>What would you do if you found a burly county agent in your bedroom, demanding that you cut your grass?
>
>Shoot him?

You stole my answer!


11 posted on 07/10/2012 10:58:06 AM PDT by OneWingedShark (Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)
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To: PowderMonkey
"I suspect alcohol was involved. "

Vowell's behavior appears to have been consonant with drunkeness.
12 posted on 07/10/2012 10:58:29 AM PDT by TheLawyerFormerlyKnownAsAl
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To: PowderMonkey
Beefy fellow

He is as wide as the hallway.

13 posted on 07/10/2012 10:59:42 AM PDT by Right Wing Assault (Dick Obama is more inexperienced now than he was before he was elected.)
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To: rawhide

“It was a violation of policy as it relates to entering a house without permission”

Not to mention criminal trespass.


14 posted on 07/10/2012 11:02:11 AM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: rawhide

Why is he not dead?...............


15 posted on 07/10/2012 11:02:37 AM PDT by Red Badger (Think logically. Act normally.................)
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To: rawhide
One thing that bothers me is why was her door unlocked?

I guess she was tired of not getting anything good on her surveillance camera, so she increased the odds of walk-ins.

If that didn't work, her next plan was a sign that said, "No dogs, no guns, no locks."

16 posted on 07/10/2012 11:02:58 AM PDT by Right Wing Assault (Dick Obama is more inexperienced now than he was before he was elected.)
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To: rawhide

I can’t think of a lower form of life than code enforcement agents. meter maids may not have evolved far from the primeval slime, but code enforcement agents devolved from it.


17 posted on 07/10/2012 11:04:18 AM PDT by from occupied ga (Your government is your most dangerous enemy)
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To: conservativehusker

Reminds me of the BTK serial killer, who got a job as a compliance officer, and then used that position of power over others to get his kicks.


18 posted on 07/10/2012 11:07:57 AM PDT by Boogieman
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To: Georgia Girl 2
Not to mention criminal trespass.

Government agents don't have to follow the LAWS that we do. They only have to follow "departmental guidelines and policies." That's why police can almost always get away with murder when if you or I did the same action we'd be in jail for 20 years.

19 posted on 07/10/2012 11:08:25 AM PDT by from occupied ga (Your government is your most dangerous enemy)
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To: rawhide

Typical lefty.


20 posted on 07/10/2012 11:10:08 AM PDT by onedoug
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