Southern Hospitality

Atlanta Police handcuffed and jailed a British author in town for a conference. His crime? Jaywalking.

Here are some choice quotes from the AJC article (registration required).

Fernandez-Armesto said. “I asked him what his authority was because I didn’t see a badge. Where I’m from you don’t associate young gentlemen in bomber jackets with the police. But he was extremely upset I had questioned his bona fides.”

and

Fernandez-Armesto was taken into custody, where he spent the next eight hours along with “extremely unfortunate members of the underclass.” He was fingerprinted and mug shots were taken. “It was an extremely traumatic experience,” he said. “I was in a state of paralytic fear,” he said. “My livelihood is dependent on coming over to the U.S., and any record would’ve ruined my way of life.”

and

“That was my first morning here,” he said. “I must say I didn’t get to experience the Southern hospitality I’d heard so much about.”

I love “extremely unfortunate members of the underclass.”