This is personal for me—my birth mom, Gail, was arrested 16 times by this department. I thank God it was before they were posting everything online. If I had grown up seeing those images from New York, it would’ve changed how I saw her—and myself.

Not everyone gets the chance I had to come back and help her. Some kids only get the trauma.

We, the undersigned residents, community members, and allies, demand that the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office immediately stop posting arrest photos and personal information on social media platforms.

These public posts:

1.  Violate the dignity and privacy of individuals who are innocent until proven guilty
2. Disproportionately target Black and poor communities in a county that is 60% Black and struggling with poverty
3. Contribute to mental health trauma, public shaming, and the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes
    

Public safety should never come at the expense of human dignity. The Sheriff’s Office has other tools to communicate safety updates without putting people’s lives and reputations at risk before they’ve even had a trial.

We demand:
 

1. An end to public social media posts showing people who have been arrested but not convicted
2. The removal of all past arrest photos from official Bibb County Sheriff accounts
3. A written public communications policy reviewed by the community
4. A public apology for violating our privacy and ignoring our complaints online
    

The community deserves a system of justice, not humiliation. Stand with us in calling for responsible, respectful, and fair policing and public communication.

**Update: I’ve officially submitted an Open Records Request to the Bibb County Sheriff's Office to challenge their public posting of arrest photos on social media. This issue is personal for me!

My birth mother, Gail, was arrested 16 TIMES by this same sheriff’s office. And I thank God every day that it happened before the era of viral mugshots and Facebook humiliation.  

Because if those images were STILL online...circulating over and over...my sisters in Macon, all of us separated at birth by life’s circumstances… would be forced to watch our mother being arrested, laid out on the ground like a spectacle.

That kind of repeated exposure is trauma on top of trauma!!! The sheriff office is sworn to protect our bodies and OUR MINDS!! Not intentionally cause them harm.

And I’m so grateful that I didn’t grow up with those images burned into my head. It allowed me to come back and help my mom, not see her as a criminal, but as someone who needed support.

The truth is: everyone deserves that chance. But now, families and children in Bibb County are scrolling Facebook and seeing the people they love turned into entertainment for the algorithm. No trial. No conviction. Just shame and judgment.

I’m fighting back. And I hope you’ll stand with me.

This is about dignity. About mental health. About protecting our people from being punished before they’ve even had a voice.