There were four notable things to take from Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington’s press conference today about the Sept. 10 raid at Atlanta Eagle:
Which begs the following questions:
Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts — who’s got dreams of building new libraries and putting casinos downtown — says he wants to give county police officers “free” homes. He says it’s an appropriate step at a time when the county is swimming in abandoned and foreclosed homes and police are having a hard time paying and retaining officers.
There’s a catch, of course — the officers just have to promise they’ll stick around for 15 years.
From Pitts release:
Pitts said, “Since most jurisdictions cannot pay police officers what they deserve, providing free homes to them would be a substantial supplement to their salaries and a good tool for recruitment and retention.”
Under the program, police officers would have to pay a down payment of $2,500 and commit to 15 years of service with the department in order to receive a free home, and it would have to be their primary residence. At the end of 15 years they would be given the deed to the home. During the interim, they would be responsible for all taxes, insurance, utilities and maintenance.
Twenty-six-year-old Atlanta police officer Lamar Gavin is being held without bond in the Fulton County Jail. Prosecutors say he videotaped himself raping a neighbor in her apartment last summer. Gavin’s MySpace profile, which can be found at MySpace.com/lgavin82, was last updated April 9. He was booked the next day. The following are excerpts from his profile.
“The ‘ATL’ Bad Boyâ€
— Gavin’s headline
“If a man tells you he doesn’t want to be your boyfriend, you’re probably not what he’s looking for..â€
— Gavin’s motto
“Law &; Order SVU and the regular one, The Shield, Nip/Tuck, 24, Real World, Sopranos, Real Time with Bill Maher, Dallas Swat, Dog Boutny Hunter (he cracks me up) …â€
— listed as The “ATL†Bad Boy’s television interests
“I try to keep my personal life drama free but it seems like crazy people find their way into my life. Remember this folks: You can accomplish anything as long as you stay out of jail!â€
— Gavin’s About Me description
When police rioted at an immigration rally in Los Angeles May 1, that city’s mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, canceled a trade mission to Mexico to return home, take command, condemn the obvious wrongdoing and vow to get to the bottom of things.
Compare that leadership with Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, who, as I write in my column this week, goes on a junket every time things get hot at home. And, of course, Franklin was almost invisible for a week after the Nov. 21 slaying by corrupt police officers of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles has a real Police Commission that oversees law enforcement — unlike Atlanta, which created one two months ago following the Johnston killing, but has yet to staff it.
“It gives us a capacity that as a small agency we normally wouldn’t have,” said Pelham Police Chief Nealie McCormick. His South Georgia agency of 14 full-time officers and eight reservists has received M-16 rifles, camouflage uniforms, night-vision devices and generators.
The quotation is from a crappy AJC story describing how the Pentagon gives leftover military hardware to local police. The equipment is given to police for “Homeland Security” and “War On Drugs” operations.
The repeater reporter quotes five people who think the program is a good idea, but doesn’t even hint at, let alone quote somebody who thinks otherwise.
There are plenty of people, from all corners of the political universe, who don’t jump for joy at the thought of local police with military weapons. Libertarian think tank The Cato Institute published a paper last year on the increasing number of botched military-style raids carried out by local police departments. I’m offering it as an example of the type of dissenting viewpoint the AJC might have tried to include in its story.
In the meantime, I’ll sleep much better knowing that Pelham (pop. 4,000-ish) now has the firepower to defend its Huddle House against al-Qaeda.
Gov. Sonny Perdue has responded to the Georgia Association of Elected Officials call for an investigation into the arrest of a Canadian tourist who was detained for a minor traffic violation in Glynn County.
His response: It was an isolated incident so no further investigation is necessary.
That’s because one Glynn County jail employee has already been fired, and two others have been suspended without pay. Glynn County Sheriff Wayne Bennett told the Ottawa Citizen that a miscommunication between an officer and immigration officials led to the Canadian’s 11-hour detainment.
Bennett claimed the immigration check was conducted in anticipation of complying with a state immigration law that goes into effect in July. But GALEO said the law only applies to foreign nationals who are arrested for a DUI or felony, not a minor traffic charge.
In an e-mail, GALEO executive director Jerry Gonzalez said, “we [are] disappointed at the lack of attention to our request … Our contention [is] that there is growing confusion about the implementation of [the immigration law] … and that law enforcement officials around the state may misinterpret the law and its intent.”
The Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials has called for an investigation into the arrest of a Canadian tourist who was detained for a minor traffic violation in South Georgia.
According to an article in the Ottawa Citizen, a 23-year-old female was driving to Florida when police pulled her over for running a stop sign and speeding. Even though she had a valid Canadian passport, she was taken to jail, where she stayed for 11 hours.
A Georgia state trooper indicated that it’s routine for police to detain foreign nationals for traffic violations. The procedure was put in place in anticipation of complying with the state immigration law that goes into effect in July.
The Associated Press and USA Today just picked up the AJC’s April 2 story about the Atlanta Police Department’s War On Bathroom Sex. I blogged a little bit about it on April 3. In case you missed it, Atlanta cops are peering into toilets at the airport to catch people engaged in sexual activity.
Seeing the story again reminded me of a conversation I had two weeks ago with a Clayton County assistant solicitor whose office prosecutes public indecency offenses at the airport.
I got in touch with her after I tried and failed to get an Atlanta police officer to talk to me about the crackdown. Strange. You’d think that someone who’s been peering into bathroom stalls at the airport would have some stories they’d want to tell.
Yesterday’s edition of Atlanta’s alternative daily newspaper featured a story about an Atlanta Police Department crackdown on men having sex with other men in restrooms at Hartsfield-Jackson.
Maj. Darryl Tolleson, commander of the airport precinct, credits a recent increase in “public indecency” arrests at the airport to new and better crime-fighting tactics by the police.
Among the tactics:
discreet peeks through the crack in closed restroom stall doors if an officer hears anything unusual.
What’s supposed to bother me more — men having sex with other men in public bathroom stalls, or police officers “discreetly peeking” in bathroom stalls because they hear an “unusual” noise?
I can easily imagine cops peeking in at people on the toilet because they happen to be “suspiciously” talking on their phones or singing along to their iPods.
