The Unlikely Friendship Between a Man and the Officer Who Wrongly Arrested Him

On this episode of Our American Stories, Jameel McGee had just become a father when his life was derailed by a lie. In 2006, in Benton Harbor, Michigan, he was falsely arrested by narcotics officer Andrew Collins, whose fabricated reports and planted evidence led to a wrongful conviction and satisfied an internal push for arrest numbers. Although the truth eventually came out, Collins was sentenced to prison, and Jameel’s conviction was overturned, the damage had already been done. He had missed the early milestones of his son’s life and spent years behind bars for a crime he never committed.

Most people in his position would seek revenge. But when their paths crossed again, Jameel chose to respond in a way that surprised them both.

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