Lake City, FL — On the morning of October 31, James Hodges, 61, a legally blind veteran, was doing nothing wrong, had harmed no one, and was minding his own business when two people — who claim to “protect society” — approached him, accosted him, and then kidnapped him.
Had a regular citizen done what these two armed agents of the state did on that day, rest assured that they would be in prison right now for kidnapping. However, because Hodges’ kidnappers wear badges, they didn’t even lose their jobs.
Hodges requested the body-camera footage from that day to release publicly and it is nothing short of infuriating. The video shows Columbia County Sheriff’s Deputy Jayme Gohde and Sergeant Randy Harrison detaining Hodges without probable cause and subsequently fabricating charges to justify their actions which led to the kidnapping and caging of an innocent man.
According to Gohde’s account of the situation, she saw Hodges’ collapsible walking cane in his back pocket and claimed it was a gun. She then proceeded to detain Hodges, who told her that it was his collapsible walking stick because he is legally blind and needs it after dark.
In her report, Gohde claimed that Hodges never showed her a clear view of his walking stick but the body-camera video proves this was a lie. As the clip tweeted out by Ford Fischer illustrates below, Hodges clearly showed Gohde the walking stick before he was arrested or even detained.
Indicating her intentions, when Hodges asked Gohde if she is a tyrant, Gohde responded, “yeah. I am actually.”
When Hodges removes the cane from his back pocket, he “clearly” holds it up, spins it around, and presents it to Gohde in a fashion that would remove all doubt that the item in his pocket is a “pistol.”
THREAD: Columbia County Sheriff’s Deputy Jayme Gohde in Florida will be back on the streets armed with a gun and badge after writing in a signed police report she still believed this collapsable cane was a handgun until she arrested this blind man a minute after this image. pic.twitter.com/R8Bg7eTevH
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) November 9, 2022