Canadian Says She Was Jailed In Georgia Because Police Wouldn't Accept Her Driver's License

David Tracy
Today 9:30am

On her 27th birthday in early April, Ontario-native Emily Nield got pulled over by Georgia police for speeding. After a police officer allegedly said her documentation—which included a Canadian driver’s license and not a hard-copy of a passport—was invalid, the officer handcuffed Nield and sent her to jail, CBC reports.

This whole situation seems silly. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Nield got pulled over on Interstate 75 in Cook County, Georgia for doing 87 MPH in a 70 MPH zone as she returned to her former university in Tennessee.

Upon showing the officer her Canadian driver’s license, the story continues, the officer told her the document wasn’t valid, with CBC reporting:

“She kept saying, ‘No, Canadian licences are not accepted,’” said Nield. “I was flabbergasted. I just kept saying this can’t be right — a Canadian licence is always valid.”

The officer allegedly asked for proof of Canadian citizenship, but when Nield offered to show digital versions of her passport, Nexus card and birth certificate—all of which were on her phone—the officer reportedly wasn’t satisfied, ultimately handcuffing Nield, putting her in the back of the police cruiser, and impounding her car.