FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Homeowners in a Forsyth County subdivision are upset that private security officers hired by the HOA are stopping residents and visitors for alleged traffic violations.
“They’re using their vehicles with yellow lights and sirens in their cars and stopping motor vehicles and writing them tickets, and taking money for those tickets for the HOA,” T.J. Ward, a resident and homeowner in the community, said, speaking with Channel 2’s Tom Regan.
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Ward, a retired police officer, currently works as a licensed private investigator. He’s lived at the St. Marlo subdivision on McGinnis Ferry Road for over 20 years.
Ward told Channel 2 Action News that private security shouldn’t be making traffic stops.
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“As we know, the only person in the state of Georgia who stop a motor vehicle is a law enforcement officer. It’s also against the rules and regulations of their license, of what governs their license, being a security company,” Ward said.
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office told Channel 2 Action News, that HOA hired security officers can make traffic stop on the roads of a private subdivision but are only allowed to issue HOA violation tickets, not traffic citations.
Beyond his complaint over the security patrol traffic stops, Ward said he and other neighbors are being harassed by the HOA with excessive and unwarranted fines.
He said he was fined $300 for not promptly power washing his home. The HOA also fined him $500 after he got into a dispute with front gate guards who demanded he provide his private license three times in one day to enter the subdivision where he has lived for 20 years.
“I received a ticket from the HOA for harassing the guard, and disorderly conduct.” said Ward.
Ward says he plans to the fight the violation fine in court.
Channel 2 Action News reached out to the St. Marlo HOA property manager to see if the wished to respond to the complaints. A representative said they had no comment.
The HOA security at St. Marlo overstepping their bounds is a story Channel 2 Action News has covered since 2013.
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