NAACP: Majority of 65 drug arrests in Bartow County should be dismissed

Drugs and guns confiscated at a house party on Dec. 31. Photo provided  by the Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force

Drugs and guns confiscated at a house party on Dec. 31. Photo provided  by the Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force

The attorney for the Georgia chapter of the NAACP says most of the drug charges should be dropped for 65 people arrested at a Bartow County house party.

“We believe, based on what we know from the police report and independent witnesses and video, that there was a violation of people’s Fourth Amendment rights,” Attorney Gerald Griggs told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures of property.

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The Bartow-Cartersville Drug Task Force says officers obtained a search warrant before entering the Cain Drive home, where they allegedly found stolen guns and drugs. Among the 65 arrested at the party were several minors.

District Attorney Rosemary Greene, who has been in contact with Griggs and other NAACP leaders, said her office will review each case file before making a decision on prosecution.