{UAH} Woman Jailed in US for Canadian Licence

Woman Jailed in US for Canadian Licence

By Evan Williams

May 07, 2018 

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An Ontario student is looking for an apology from a Georgia police officer who arrested and charged her because of a Canadian driver's licence.

Emily Neild was driving through Georgia on the way to Tennessee where she had just finished a master's in geology. She was pulled over for speeding on I-75, a common route for Canadians heading south for the winter.

Nield gave the officer her Ontario driver's license, but the officer wasn't having it. "She kept saying, 'No, Canadian licences are not accepted,'" Nield told the CBC. "I was flabbergasted. I just kept saying this can't be right — a Canadian licence is always valid."

The officer asked for proof Nield was Canadian, but wouldn't accept copies of her passport, Nexus card or birth certificate she had on her phone.

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"When I failed to produce it, she reached through the window of my car and she put handcuffs on me," said Nield. "She told me that I have just been arrested for driving without a licence and that I needed to go to jail."

Nield was able to take a video on her phone from the back of the cruiser and sent it to friends online.

She was charged with driving without a licence and speeding. Nield was allegedly doing 141 km/k in a 113 km/h zone (87 mph in a 70 mph zone). Police took her fingerprints and mugshot, and Nield said she was told she would be held in jail until June 12, unless she paid a US $880 bond in cash. Nield said her requests to speak to the Canadian Consulate or her parents were unanswered. She was eventually allowed to pay using a debit card.

The Georiga Department of Driver Services website states that Georgia recognizes valid driver's licenses from other countries, including Canada.

Three days after the arrest, working with a lawyer and the consulate, Neild was able to have the charges dismissed. Her attorney is working with local officials to have her arrest record erased.

Nield told the CBC that she wants the Cooks County Sherriff's Office to be held accountable. "At least with the officer who arrested me, I would love to see a formal reprimand," said Nield. "That way she can learn that this is not right — an apology is what I would love the most."

While a valid Canadian driver's licence is valid in the US, many states, like Georgia, state that law enforcement officials may check your supporting documents, like passport or birth certificate, to verify identity and validity of the license. However, in most of those states, all documents must be in English. Drivers with a non-English licence may want to obtain an International Driving Permit, which is essentially a translation of your Canadian licence.

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