Statham police to hold public meeting Feb. 16

I had the pleasure of meeting officer Michael Pruitt today during a traffic stop. Officer Pruitt came across to me as professional and truly concerned for safety. He seemed down to earth and lacked that very large chip that sits upon the shoulder of just about every Winder police officer I've encountered. Upon learning that I carried a CCW weapons permit and displayed bumper stickers from the USCCA, he didn't even ask if i was carrying a firearm nor did he ask if he could search my vehicle as most Winder officers would have most certainly TRIED to do. He respected my rights as a law-abiding citizen, mentioned his unwavering support for our 2nd ammendment and for that, he's earned my utmost respect. I wasn't sure there were any officers remaining out there who still believed in the mission statement of, "To Serve and Protect". Unfortunately, I have seen many examples of cops behaving like jackboot thugs when it came to trampling citizens constitutional rights. Too often, police academies accept recruits that are psychologically mal-adjusted that go on to become spouse-abusers or complete wackos with a badge. Congratulations to the Statham police department. If Mike Pruitt is just an example of the type of officers the department puts out on the street, the city of Statham should be proud and it citizens should support it's police department.