Teh One Who Knocks
12-03-2013, 11:55 AM
Angel Clark - Wilmington Civil Rights Examiner
http://i.imgur.com/Q7IIWtt.jpg
A Watertown, N.Y. woman was arrested last month after what is being described as a “computer glitch”.
Jasmine Brown Borreggine, who ran for the Watertown City Council in September, was issued a summons for an “unanswered ticket” in March. The ticket was from 2005, and Borreggine claims she had plead not guilty by mail. Eight years later, she was told she would have to go to court for the ticket.
Borreggine went to court on April 1, 2013, and agreed to adjournment in contemplation of dismissal (ACD), meaning that the ticket would be dismissed if there were no further violations in the next six months. Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013, Borreggine was pulled over for speeding. What she thought would be a simple traffic ticket turned out to be much more.
The police told Borreggine that her license had been suspended. Someone had issued a license suspension at the Watertown court on April 25, almost a month after her court date. She was arrested on a charge of “unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle”. She was handcuffed on the street and taken to jail in the back of a police car. Her significant other, Mark, was forced to head down to jail and pay $100 to bail her out. He was told he had to get the car immediately, or it would be towed, costing the family even more.
Borreggine went to the city court clerk’s office the following Monday to find out how her license had been suspended with no notification sent to her. She asked for documentation as to why her license was suspended. Borreggine posted on Facebook, “After 10 minutes of hushed whispering, nervous glances and ghost white faces, the clerk, Dawn Paige, says, ‘I'm really sorry this should have never should have happened. We never took care of an old ticket."
7 News contacted the city court clerk’s office to find out more about what happened, but the office declined an on-air interview. Julie Hall, at the office did tell the station, “that her office did file the information electronically to the Department of Motor Vehicles, but that there was a glitch somewhere in the system.”
Borreggine doesn’t believe it was a computer error. "At some point there has to be a human error. Did somebody mis-enter something into the computer system," Borreggine asked 7 News. She posted on Facebook, “Sorry is not good enough. I was handcuffed on arsenal st. And [sic] driven to the jail because someone in the city clerk's office is incompetent.”
Borreggine’s $100 in bail money has yet to be returned, and she is still facing charges for the unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. She is considering suing the city over their actions if she can find the right legal assistance. She expressed concern on Facebook over this type of action continuing, “. How can such a grievous mistake like this be allowed to be quietly swept under the rug? What if the next person they do this to is a single mom with her kids in the car. No one to bail her out and they put her kids in CPS while she sits in jail over the weekend.”
http://i.imgur.com/Q7IIWtt.jpg
A Watertown, N.Y. woman was arrested last month after what is being described as a “computer glitch”.
Jasmine Brown Borreggine, who ran for the Watertown City Council in September, was issued a summons for an “unanswered ticket” in March. The ticket was from 2005, and Borreggine claims she had plead not guilty by mail. Eight years later, she was told she would have to go to court for the ticket.
Borreggine went to court on April 1, 2013, and agreed to adjournment in contemplation of dismissal (ACD), meaning that the ticket would be dismissed if there were no further violations in the next six months. Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013, Borreggine was pulled over for speeding. What she thought would be a simple traffic ticket turned out to be much more.
The police told Borreggine that her license had been suspended. Someone had issued a license suspension at the Watertown court on April 25, almost a month after her court date. She was arrested on a charge of “unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle”. She was handcuffed on the street and taken to jail in the back of a police car. Her significant other, Mark, was forced to head down to jail and pay $100 to bail her out. He was told he had to get the car immediately, or it would be towed, costing the family even more.
Borreggine went to the city court clerk’s office the following Monday to find out how her license had been suspended with no notification sent to her. She asked for documentation as to why her license was suspended. Borreggine posted on Facebook, “After 10 minutes of hushed whispering, nervous glances and ghost white faces, the clerk, Dawn Paige, says, ‘I'm really sorry this should have never should have happened. We never took care of an old ticket."
7 News contacted the city court clerk’s office to find out more about what happened, but the office declined an on-air interview. Julie Hall, at the office did tell the station, “that her office did file the information electronically to the Department of Motor Vehicles, but that there was a glitch somewhere in the system.”
Borreggine doesn’t believe it was a computer error. "At some point there has to be a human error. Did somebody mis-enter something into the computer system," Borreggine asked 7 News. She posted on Facebook, “Sorry is not good enough. I was handcuffed on arsenal st. And [sic] driven to the jail because someone in the city clerk's office is incompetent.”
Borreggine’s $100 in bail money has yet to be returned, and she is still facing charges for the unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. She is considering suing the city over their actions if she can find the right legal assistance. She expressed concern on Facebook over this type of action continuing, “. How can such a grievous mistake like this be allowed to be quietly swept under the rug? What if the next person they do this to is a single mom with her kids in the car. No one to bail her out and they put her kids in CPS while she sits in jail over the weekend.”