Ga. Police Raid Farm, Mistake Okra Plants for Marijuana
Sunday, October 12, 2014 at 1:20PM
Editor

Authorities in Georgia mistook a man's okra plants for a marijuana grow operation earlier this month, showing up at his residence with police dogs and a helicopter.

Dwayne Perry said that he was frightened when a helicopter hung low over his house and Bartow County deputies arrived at his front door with a K-9 unit.

"They were strapped to the gills," Perry said.

The officers were part of a statewide task force looking for home-grown marijuana. They had spotted Perry's okra plants, which look similar to marijuana but have five leaves instead of seven.

"Here I am, at home and retired and you know I do the right thing," Perry said. "Then they come to my house strapped with weapons for no reason. It ain't right."

Georgia State Patrol Capt. Kermit Stokes told WSB-TV on Oct. 2 that they had not been able to identify the plants yet, but that they had a variety of characteristics similar to marijuana.

Stokes said that disturbing citizens is not the task force's intent. "Our intent is to go out and do our job and do it to the best of our ability," he said.

Officers apologized on two occasions, but Perry said "Anything could have happened," and that he fears his reputation was damaged after the high-profile encounter.

Article originally appeared on The Anderson Observer (http://andersonobserver.squarespace.com/).
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