My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Georgia.

Bit of a bind here.. I was ticketed on 23 February of this year for Failure to Maintain Lane(40-6-48) in Marietta, Georgia. I'll paste below the text from my complaint to the Cobb County Department of Internal Affairs. There will be a brief summarized version at the bottom for those not interested in the details.

I left work at a software company in Marietta at 11pm, proceeding up I-75 northbound, taking the Chastain Road(271) exit, turning left from the middle lane of the exit ramp, which turned into the outside lane of Chastain Road. I then took an immediate right onto Frey road. I proceeded about a mile before I noticed that a police car behind me had lit its lights. Frey road has no shoulder, and there was traffic to my left, and Georgia state law requires that I pull over to my right. Unsure what to do, I slowed, waved to the officer to acknowledge him, and took the next right onto Busbee and an immediate right into an apartment complex, the first place that I could stop to be out of the roadway. The officer(Officer -----) approached my window with his firearm drawn and pointed at me. I followed his commands to place my hands on the steering wheel as he berated me verbally for not pulling over immediately. I explained why I did not pull over in traffic. Officer -----asked me if I had been drinking, to which I replied that I had not. He told me that I had taken a "wide turn" off of the exit ramp[I surmise that I may have gone a bit into the bike lane], which was the reason that he pulled me over. He ordered me out of the car, and I complied.

I was frisked for weapons at this point. Officer -----told me that he was going to administer a field sobriety test, and I told him that I would submit to a breathalyzer if that would make things easier for him. I did so, and blew nothing(as I had not been drinking). Officer -----then proceeded to take me through an extensive field sobriety test, all the while being verbally abusive and insulting, to which I responded only with "yes sir" and "no sir". Having passed the field sobriety test, Officer -----asks if he can search my vehicle, to which I responded that no, I do not submit to any search. When asked why, I responded that I did so pursuant to my fourth amendment right. He threatened to call the canine unit if I refused to allow him to search. I continued to decline permission to search. He called the canine unit and informed me that I would be forced to wait over an hour for them to arrive. At this point I did not think to ask why he was calling the canine unit after I'd just passed the field sobriety test and was only pulled over for simply making a "wide turn."

After having waited standing by the police car for about twenty minutes, I ask Officer -----if I may turn off my engine, to which he responds that I may not. He said that he would turn it off for me, however. I initially agreed, but as he walked over I realized that giving him consent to enter my car to turn it off constituted permission to enter and search my vehicle, so I reneged that consent before he arrived at my vehicle and reiterated that I do not give permission for him to enter or search my vehicle. This angered Officer -----, his body language and that of Lieutenant -----, who was present for all of this, was one of open hostility. Ten minutes passes, and Lieutenant ----- informs me that he is going to enter my vehicle and turn off the engine. I immediately respond that I do not give him consent to do that, and he says, and I quote, "I'm not asking you to get in, I'm telling you that I'm getting in." Lieutenant -----proceeds to get into my vehicle, turn off the engine, and have a look around the interior while seated in my car. This is before the canine unit has arrived.

After an hour, the canine unit arrives and sniffs around my vehicle. The dog jumps up and puts half his body in my window. The dog does not scratch or appear to have done anything at all, but I'm informed that the dog "hit" on my car, and that probable cause was established to search. Officer ---and the narcotics officer searched my car thoroughly, effectively trashing the interior. Throughout this time I'm verbally insulted and intimidated by Lieutenant ----. I am asked by Lieutenant --- if I "just stashed my dope before I came out tonight or if [I] just really enjoy screwing around with the police." At this point I'm extremely afraid, having been detained for almost two hours in the cold and watching officers trash my car looking for drugs, which I did not have and never have had in my vehicle. I'm informed by Lieutenant Abbott that only guilty people refuse search, and what kind of person would not let the officers search if I didn't have anything to hide? I was accused by Lieutenant ---- of wasting his time and wasting the canine officers' time. I ask Lieutenant --- if I may make a phone call(intending to call my lawyer), and I was informed that no, I may not make a phone call as I am detained "until we arrest you", implying my impending arrest.

After the search yielded nothing, I am ticketed by Officer --- for failure to maintain lane(I am rather certain that I received this ticket because of the contempt that he held for me because of my refusal to allow him to search. Given the nature of the turn that I executed and the geography of the road, it is impossible to execute an excessively wide turn in the outside lane without hitting the curb[I later realized that I may have intruded into the bike lane], which Officer --- agreed that I did not do.) Officer --- then literally threw my keys from a distance onto the top of my car, scratching the paint, and got into his car. Before leaving, he literally spun his tires on the street while glaring at me.


What astounded me the most was the extreme disrespect and contempt with which I was treated by the Cobb County police. It was made very clear to me that my exercise of my basic civil right offended them in a variety of ways, all of which they made painfully clear throughout the long ordeal, most of which was spent in the cold air with floodlights in my eyes and/or being physically manhandled during one of 2 extremely thorough searches of my person, the illegal entry and search of my vehicle by Lieutenant ---- prior to the arrival of the canine unit notwithstanding. I was also very disturbed to have the officer point his gun in my face upon making the stop, as I made no attempt to evade and did not progress more than perhaps half a mile after having his lights turned on, and only to reach a safe location to pull over. All of this because I made a "wide turn" off of the exit ramp.


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Short summary: was pulled over for failure to maintain lane, not sure that it was possible for me to have done so as there is a hard curb and he said that I "almost hit the curb", ergo if I did not hit the curb I did not leave my lane, as there is no shoulder. Was detained for ~1.5-2 hours by the police, possibly illegal search, various abusive behavior. Should I contest this $157 dollar ticket(with 3 points on license, I think) or just pay it? Is the post-detainment behavior apropos to the reason for which I received the ticket, or is it not admissible?

Any and all advice is truly appreciated.

Regards,
Ken