A Georgia man was awoken Wednesday morning to find a police helicopter hovering overhead and sheriff’s deputies at the door to search his property for drugs.
"They were strapped to the gills,” said Dwayne Perry, describing the heavily armed officers.
Agents from the Governor's Task Force for drug suppression flying overhead spotted what they believed to be marijuana growing in the yard of Perry’s home in Cartersville, reported WSB-TV.
But the plants were, in fact, okra.
"We've not been able to identify it as of yet, but it did have quite a number of characteristics that were similar to a cannabis plant,” Capt. Kermit Stokes, of the Georgia State Patrol, told the TV station.
Perry said the mistake shouldn’t have been made, because okra has five leaves -- not seven, as cannabis does.
"Here I am, at home and retired and, you know, I do the right thing,” Perry said. “Then they come to my house strapped with weapons for no reason. It ain't right."
Law enforcement officers apologized to Perry after examining the plants, saying they were only trying to do their jobs, but the homeowner said the mistake could potentially have gotten him killed or injured.
"The more I thought about it, what could have happened?” Perry said. "Anything could have happened.”
Perry also fears his reputation was harmed, saying that neighbors have been asking him about all the patrol cars parked outside his home.
Watch this video report posted online by WSB-TV:
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