McDonough, Georgia — On June 20, 2023, While on patrol, a Henry County police officer pulled over a Dodge Charger that his laser clocked going 96 mph in a 35-mph zone. When the officer approached the Charger, he recognized the person behind the wheel as Henry County Sheriff Chief Deputy Michael Yarbrough. “Really?” the police officer who pulled the chief over for speeding immediately asked. Shortly after receiving Yarbrough’s license, the officer returns to the cruiser and makes a phone call to another person for guidance. “Guess who I just pulled over?” the officer is heard saying. “Who?” the person replied. “Yarbrough.”
The officer asked if he should write him a ticket. “It’s your traffic stop, do what you think you should do. I’m not telling you one way or another,” the person said. “I don’t care for him, so I’m going to write his [explicit].” The officer later walks up to Chief Deputy Yarbrough and hands him a citation. “If you would sign right here,” the officer tells Yarbrough, “Please slow down, have a safe day.” Georgia does have a super speeder law. Under it, super speeders are ticketed for traveling 75 mph or faster on a two-lane road or 85 mph or faster on highways. It adds a $200 fine to a ticket. The citation only states a “warning” and does not have a $200 fine on it. It does state that Yarbrough must appear in court.
In a statement, Henry County Sheriff Reginald Scandrett said, “Chief Deputy (Yarbrough) reported to me immediately after the traffic stop occurred that he was issued a citation for speeding. Any questions related to the citation itself should be directed to the Henry County Police Department. After reviewing the facts of the incident, I suspended the Chief Deputy for 40 hours without pay for the severity of the traffic citation.” A spokesperson says Yarbrough was on duty at the time but did not turn on his lights or sirens.
News by Breaking911
