My husband and I visited Peachtree City on Sunday, Oct. 9 for the Great Georgia Air Show. We had a wonderful time and we thought the air show was put together well and staffed by some wonderful volunteers. We stopped by exhibits, bought a raffle ticket from the American Cancer Society and snacked on some good food. We drove from Acworth to spend the day in your beautiful and unique city.

While we are not residents of your city, we witnessed something that surprised us and made us both feel uncomfortable while we were at the air show.

We witnessed one of your police officers leave his belt and his gun in a golf cart while waiting in line at one of the Boy Scouts tents for food.

We spoke to the officer while he was waiting in line and told him that this made us feel uncomfortable, and he replied, “Why do you think I was watching him?” referring to my husband who stepped back to verify what we had seen.

We were in line behind the officer for minutes. Whether it was 2, 3 or 5 minutes, I do not believe is the issue. It takes only seconds for the gun to be stolen and seconds more to be fired.

The officer was approximately 20 feet away from the golf cart at the time we spoke with him. (We were not in a restricted area).

We did notice another “officer” not in uniform in a “police” t-shirt ahead of him in line. This officer received his food first and went to stand in front of the golf cart while the other officer finished his purchase.

As I am sure you are aware, there was a large crowd at this event with numerous adults and children. (There were scouts taking orders and helping in the food tent).

As you can imagine, this was our topic of conversation on the way home. Having a family member as an agent in the FBI along with friends and family in law enforcement, we decided that we should call on Monday to let someone know that an officer had left his gun unattended at a public event.

I called the police department and spoke with Captain Dove on Monday. Capt. Dove assured me that she would pass my concerns along to Major Dupree and the chief of police. She stated that she would get back to me in a few days and that the chief was out of town.

Shortly after my discussion with Capt. Dove, Major Dupree called my cell phone. I thought he was calling to find out about the unattended gun left in the golf cart.

To my dismay and disappointment, Major Dupree appeared upset with me for making the phone call to Peachtree City police. I was surprised to find out that he was the officer in the t-shirt.

Major Dupree then insinuated and also stated that I better have my facts straight. He further indicated that I better not file or say anything untrue.

I felt like I was being verbally attacked and warned not to say anything further. Major Dupree appeared to have no interest in what we had witnessed because he was there and I felt that he was trying to intimidate me. He appeared very argumentative and upset.

I told him that I had done nothing wrong and was just concerned that an officer’s gun was left unattended and I thought this was reckless. Eventually, I ended the call with Major Dupree after I told him that I did not have to listen to his harassment.

I immediately contacted Capt. Dove back and informed her of my discussion with the major. I also informed her that I would like to speak to the chief of police about this as Major Dupree was too involved and close to this incident. I further asked that she tell Major Dupree not to contact me further.

I then went to the Internet to find out the e-mail address, name, etc., for the chief of police. I was overwhelmed when I went to the police Web site and realized that Major Dupree was second in command and that the officer who left his gun unattended was Commander Pye.

I also read the police department’s mission statement, part of which states, ”build trust, reduce crime and create a safe environment.” This action did not make us feel safe. Further, the mission statement reads, ”We recognize the unique cultures ... and will treat each person ... with courtesy, respect, equity and dignity.”

I can assure you that I was not treated with any of these four qualities during my discussion with Major Dupree.

We were simply concerned with what we had witnessed, that’s all; concerned visitors to your city who simply wanted someone to know about the gun that was left in the golf cart.

Now that I know it was seasoned police officers, my concern is greater for your citizens and fellow police officers.

Being a small business owner in Kennesaw, we recently grieved for a police cadet who lost her life at the hands of an experienced officer in an unfortunate accident. We need experienced officers to lead the way and demonstrate by example.

We hope Peachtree City’s officers and staff will accept this letter as an education tool to retrain their officers on weapon handling and how to communicate with a concerned citizen.

We don’t believe that Peachtree City police want to intimidate visitors and citizens. Citizens and officers should work together in open communication for the betterment of its community. Citizens should not be fearful to call and report an incident that they witnessed.

Marc and Kristy Swales
Acworth, Ga.