Hey, how's it going, man? Hey, we got a call about a discharge firearm in the area. Um they gave y'alls address here. In Covington, Georgia, police are responding to a call about the sound of gunfire. So, I'm trying to figure out what's going on, is all. We ain't got no ARs or no pistols out here. Y'all have y'all heard any other gunshots in the area? Did you Could you tell where it might have possibly came from? Wouldn't really Like off directional wise or anything? Uh wouldn't really paying attention cuz it didn't come towards us, so. All right. Yeah, we're just trying to figure out They said it's whoever was shot up in the air. We're just trying to figure out cuz it's it's legal in the city limits to fire off a firearm, is all. But, uh You got a You got a D&I real quick? I do but I don't I don't need to. Well, get given that this this was the house that we were called about, we do have to identify who we're talking to. You know what I mean? >> My name is Eddie. Eddie? Eddie what? Just Eddie. That's what I mean. I didn't do I didn't do anything. >> Well, we have we have to attach who we spoke to. Police can ask, but because the man is on his own property, he is not required to identify himself or produce ID. We We have to attach who we spoke to, sir. >> Eddie. Eddie what? Eddie. So, you don't give us your full name. At this point, the police start threatening Eddie and trampling on his constitutional rights. >> We have to identify you, okay? No No, you you you Sir, sir, listen listen. Either Either you identify yourself to us or we have to detain you and we have to figure out who you are. I'm saying okay. My name is Eddie. Eddie what? >> speak to the other officer? I mean, the other people? Did you get their information? >> Not yet. This is the first one. Man, y'all know how this works. You don't have to do that. All right, sir. Go Go ahead and put your hands behind you. >> Wait a minute. Wait a minute. The police then handcuff Eddie and take his wallet. I don't have nothing. I ain't did [ __ ] LOOK, CAN WE TALK NOW? >> WERE DOING WAS IDENTIFYING YOU. OKAY, did Did y'all talk to the other people? Did y'all get their identify Okay, SO SO WHY WON'T Y'ALL TALK TO THE PERSON WHO CALLED? BECAUSE THIS Listen here, man. Eddie's family then comes outside, and as his wife talks with one police officer, Eddie criticizes another. that there was a firearm discharged. Okay, but you don't show your [ __ ] ID. Okay, so they gave us this house. And I explained to them we just have to identify who we talked to, so it I'm talking to you, man. And then that's when he was identified. But, because he didn't show his ID, He wouldn't have to show his ID. She is right, and the cop is wrong. We're investigating and this is the description we were given was this house, this location. Whoever we spoke to, we have to investigate what's going on. We do have to identify The call came in this this is the description that we were given. We have to identify who we spoke to. What's your name? They would say the same exact thing. It's not necessarily an arrest. As long as everything comes out good, it's just a detainment. So, you're telling me that you can legally arrest this man off of his porch, on his property? >> When we get Minding his own business. >> get called and given the description Somebody called. That's like somebody calling CPS on me talking about I abuse my kids and you're looking at my kids and my kids is just fine. You're going to take my kids cuz somebody called? No. An investigation WILL BE DONE. NO. NO, you're not going to just take my kids cuz somebody called. I'm going to go talk. I'm going to go talk, sir. Eventually, a supervisor gets involved and orders officers to uncuff Eddie Ballard. >> I'll take them off if he's cool with it. Yeah, I'll take I'm sorry, Sergeant, but you can stop talking to me. All right, sir. I'll talk to him, sir. I'm trying to get up Turn him around. Sir, we got a call about this address. I hear it. So, therefore, my officers have a legal reason to be here. They can ask who you are to identify you. They can Yes. And then I can refuse. Well, when you refuse, sir, when they have After not finding any evidence Eddie Ballard had fired a gun or committed any crime, the police eventually came to their senses and left. The next day, Ballard filed a police complaint. Days after that, the police retaliated. On Memorial Day of 2022, Officer Barrett and several other officers returned to the Ballard home with a warrant for Edward Ballard's arrest on an obstruction charge. Hey, Covington police. Is there any Can you just open the door for me real quick, please? Hey, ma'am. I'm Officer Barrett, Covington police. Is Edward Ballard here right now? No. He's not here right now? Okay, just wait 1 second for me, okay? Hold on, ma'am. Hold on. Hey. Ballard's wife shut the door as she was entitled to do. Open the door. Yes, I do. And she told police her husband was at the store, which he was. Still, the cops went into a frenzy. Ma'am, open the door. Open the door. You can hold the dog. When Mrs. Ballard stepped onto her back patio, the police drew their guns, arrested, and handcuffed her. The officers brought Mrs. Ballard to the police station and said she would be charged with obstruction unless she called her husband and he turned himself in. If you call Edward up right now, tell him to drive in you know what up here, you can get in his car and go home and he'll go with us to the jail on that one charge if he agrees with you to let's bury this thing with the neighbors, and let's be good neighbors, look out for each other, protect each other, and I think it's going to be a great start of something. If not, and I will talk to the DA's office with you for your charge also and say hey, she's cooperated cooperated fully, she's even got her husband down here, so we can put him in here. I will I don't want to charge her cuz all this is getting written up. So, do you want to do that? Candace Ballard called her husband and explained the situation. He then drove to the police station and turned himself in. Edward Ballard spent the night in jail for obstruction. No charges were ever brought against his wife, perhaps because the local DA realized Candace Ballard had not committed any crimes. And as for Edward Ballard, legal experts point out that if Mr. Ballard had committed a crime in the first interaction with police, they could have arrested him. He was already in handcuffs, but the police had no reasonable articulable suspicion Mr. Ballard or anybody else had broken any laws. And in Georgia, without such reasonable articulable suspicion, police cannot force a pedestrian to produce ID. So, in this case, refusing to produce ID was not against the law and was not obstruction. So, what changed? Well, Mr. Ballard filed a police complaint, and that clearly hurt the feelings of several police officers. As of this video, a year and a half after the initial incident, the charge of obstruction against Mr. Ballard is still pending. Legal experts call that absurd, and the experts say Mr. Ballard has a strong lawsuit against Covington, Georgia police for civil rights violations, unlawful arrest, and harassment. By the way, in Alabama, a lawyer recently owned police after they tased a high school band director. The police claimed the band's last song WENT TOO LONG. >> [music] >> CHECK OUT THAT video at the link below. I'm David Shuster. Thanks for joining us.