A tourist is out of the Atlanta Jail after a minor fender bender.
"I was there for six hours,” said Randy Kanuick, who was visiting from Canada.
Kanuick told Channel 2’s Dave Huddleston he was arrested after a minor traffic accident.
He says he and his nephew were heading to the Atlanta Braves, Toronto Blue Jays baseball game last Wednesday.
"I came from Saskatchewan, 1,820 miles to see a couple of games,” he said.
The Canada native got into a fender bender on the way to the game. He was charged with failure to maintain lane after trying to get around a delivery truck; He says he couldn't believe what happened next.
'I was cuffed. Cuffed where I was put in a cruiser and taken to jail, where I had to place bond," he said.
His nephew was left on the side of the road.
“My nephew is down here celebrating his birthday. He's 22, but what if he were 17?" Kanuick asked.
He says the officer, whose name appears on the ticket, told him he was going to jail since he was a foreigner from Canada.
“I said, ‘Why?’ (The officer said,) ‘You might leave the state and not pay the fine,’" Kanuick said.
That fine was $75 and his bond was $158.
Channel 2’s Dave Huddleston reached out to the Atlanta Police Department. A representative sent Huddleston a copy of their rules that state, “For the purpose of arresting and requiring the posting of a bond by the traffic violator is: to ensure an appearance of the violator in court when an officer has reason to believe an offender will not appear for his or her scheduled court date.”
Kanuick paid his fine and court costs but says he may never come back to Atlanta.
"It's very hard for me to understand," he said.
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