Joanne Pappas: Bald Head abuse

Regarding the May 22 news article “Couple’s Bald Head Island vacation ends in handcuffs”: After reading about a vacation gone bad on Bald Head Island, I felt compelled to write about our similar experience with a police officer there. My husband and I were vacationing on the island about eight years ago when we were pulled over, rightfully so, by a police officer. My husband had an open beer in his hand and should have known better. Regardless, it was his first beer, he showed total respect to the officer and apologized for his bad decision. He was treated as if he just murdered someone. He was given sobriety tests, was verbally abused, yelled at and treated like a hardened criminal. We have not been back since. Too bad, because it’s such a beautiful place.

This story was originally published June 4, 2016 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Joanne Pappas: Bald Head abuse."