A Georgia cop who arrested a college student during a bad traffic stop that ended up paving the way for her potential deportation has resigned from his post.
Dalton Police Officer Leslie O’Neal stepped down Friday, two weeks after authorities said he mistakenly took into custody Ximena Arias-Cristobal, who is in the country illegally, after believing she made an illegal turn May 5.
During the traffic stop, O’Neal also found that Arias-Cristobal, 19, didn’t have a valid driver’s license and cuffed her. She was eventually determined to be in the US illegally and held on immigration raps.
But the driving charges against her were dropped when dashcam footage showed O’Neal had mistakenly pulled her over because she was in a pickup truck similar to the vehicle he was looking for.
In O’Neal’s resignation letter viewed by 11 Alive News, the cop said he was leaving the department because of its “inadequate response to and defense against public accusations of false arrest, which arose after a charge from a valid arrest was publicly dropped without explanation.”
He also argued he can’t carry out his duties going forward in Dalton because of the backlash and lack of support from the department, according to the station.
“We can confirm that Officer O’Neal did resign from the DPD on Friday,” a rep for Dalton told the station. “He was the arresting officer in Ms. Arias-Cristobal’s case.”
The traffic stop led to national attention when Arias-Cristobal was transferred from a county jail to federal custody after immigration authorities discovered she was in the country illegally.
She was held at Stewart Detention Center for about two weeks before a judge cut her loose on bond Thursday night, according to reports.
“Being in Stewart changed my life,” the young woman said, according to WTVC. “It’s something that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. It’s life-changing.”
Arias-Cristobel still faces deportation, though the court hearing to determine her fate in the United States might not come until next year, her lawyer said.
“We’re going to keep working on her case to try to keep her here permanently,” her lawyer, Dustin Baxter, told WSB.
Arias-Cristobel and her family illegally entered the US from Mexico when she was 4 years old. Her father, Jose Francisco Arias-Tovar, could also be booted from the country after he was pulled over last month.
The Department of Homeland Security has encouraged Arias-Cristobel and her relatives to voluntarily leave the US.
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