Long and violent summer to come?

Three dead, one critically wounded in DeKalb shooting and standoff  | ajc.com.

DeKalb police chase ends with suspect shooting himself  | ajc.com.

I went to bed and the last thing I saw was a story on the news about a suspect who robbed folks in Lithonia and at South DeKalb Mall. The suspect allegedly shot himself on Bouldercrest Road. I wake up this morning, and the first thing to greet me on the morning news was a stand-off between DeKalb SWAT and a suspect who had shot a couple of people. In the end three people would be dead. in a little over twelve hours, 4 people were dead, one critically injured and several people shaken up. All of this in a relatively small area in South DeKalb. I normally don’t comment about individual crimes, but two high profile crimes in such a short time is quite a feat even by South DeKalb standards. the saying “long, hot summer” could take on a whole new meaning this year

DeKalb Police flex muscle in South DeKalb

For those of you who have driven in South DeKalb for the last few weekends has probably notice the increased presence of DeKalb police especially in the Glenwood and Candler Road areas. I attend church on Glenwood, and have gotten used to seeing a large presence there to counteract what some call ‘Glenwood Day” which typically happens sometime in April. This year seems a bit different though. DeKalb has seemed to stretch their presence much further out than the Glenwood road area. Every weekend in April of this year, I have seen them in large numbers on up and down Columbia, Memorial, Candler and some of the side streets in the area. I myself was pulled over After my wife undid her buckle to check on our son who was in his car seat in the back. The officer questioned us for a minute or so and sent us on our way. (He was unusually polite, must have been my church clothes) Zero tolerance seems to mean zero tolerance right now. Now we know where the officers who used to patrol Dunwoody ended up. I for one am glad to see the police being proactive and possibly removing violent men and women off the streets of South DeKalb. I do have to wonder though, with the budget mess and other issues in the county, How long will this show of force last. A long and sustained show of force, along with residents doing their part, would make the area a much more pleasant place to be. If this thing is short lived, then I have to wonder why do it at all.

Teacher gets off, figuratively of course

DeKalb teacher found not guilty  | ajc.com.

Well, here comes another lawsuit that we will have to pay for. After being found not guilty, you can bet he will be looking for a handout from the school district for firing him when he did “nothing” wrong. The school district will bend over, and we will get you know what. I still find it hard to believe that he was oblivious to what was going on in the class. Dude could not see anything, and his hearing was impaired. Yeah, I’m buying that. By the way, it seems that the jury bought that insane defense of  “it happens all the time at SWD”. My hopes and dreams of  a common sense society are being eroded everyday.

There is a moral black hole in South DeKalb

Solicitor: DeKalb teacher smiled as students stripped  | ajc.com.

You see this is the problem we face in South DeKalb. Some moronic buffoon becomes the defacto face and lifestyle of an entire demographic. A teacher at SWD is accused of criminal acts that inlvolved “dirty dancing” by male students and all of a sudden there is a moral blackhole that is South DeKalb. His lawyer went on to argue that these things happen at SWD on a regular basis.

“That is customary and usual activity at Southwest DeKalb,” Patterson said. “This is what the kids do daily, weekly, monthly at Southwest DeKalb.”

The guys lawyer made that statement, and I nearly lost it. I could not believe that she would use that as a defense. It happens all the time. it’s OK. Yea, the monkeys throw shit all the time just ignore them. She made a hard situation worse for the school and the community. I bet her kids have the privilege of being in a so-called “better” school, because God forbid anything negative and unholy happen at any school other than “those” schools . She basically puts down the entire student body, Administrators, teachers, and parents. What she was saying was that this is normal for “these” people. What she said was,  you can’t hold “these” people to normal standards, after all the attend, work, and live near “that” type of school. She played on the stereotype of what people think of an area once “those” people move in. Think I am just being overly sensitive, checkout some of the posts at the Get Schooled blog. The very first post:

I coached cheerleading at a high school several years back. Our school would play some south Dekalb schools. The cheerleaders and dance teams would do some seriously trashy dancing and cheers. My girls would look at them and want to do some of the same. My answer- as the ADULT in charge- NO!! I don’t care what the kids want to do- as the teacher- you are the adult and you need to make the right judgement call. In a school fraught with issues like Southwest Dekalb- the teachers have to hold the line harder than anyone. The kids can whine and complain and stamp their little feet all they want- the adult is in charge.

I bet this person could not wait to lump as many South DeKalb schools in this mess as he/she could. It is funny how when some crappy mess happens at one school in South DeKalb, the entire population gets lumped in as being culturally deficient, and a threat to the good morals of this country.(BTW, this country lost it’s morals long ago, you have just recently had someone to blame) When these things happen in upper class, christian neighborhoods, it’s not a symptom of cultural deficiency, but it’s an “isolated incident” or even better, a “teachable moment” for our kids. What a load of mess that is.

Now that I have railed against those who would use this to point out the morally inept people of South DeKalb, let me say that the teacher at the center of all this should be run out of the county. He should never be allowed to teach anywhere again. Hell, he shouldn’t be allowed to work anywhere within DeKalb. In fact he should have to get the proverbial Scarlett letter branded to his skull. The should brand him with a huge capital “I”, so that when anyone sees him, or he goes looking for any kind of employment, everyone will know that they are about to hire an IDIOT. You know since his lawyer made that idiotic defense about “customary activity at Soutwest DeKalb”, she should be branded with the “I” as well. We sure wouldn’t want her going around defending dangerous people.

Dog owner should be charged more harshly

Charge filed against owner of dogs that attacked 8-year-old  | ajc.com.

A misdemeanor reckless conduct charge. That is what a DeKalb homeowner faces after two of her dogs attacked an 8 year old playing in her yard. This is part of the reason why people do not care that their dogs are roaming the streets. There really is no punishment. This girl has had several surgeries, and will be scarred for life both physically and mentally. She will live with this event for quite a while. According to Georgia Code: The dog owner faces

a fine not to exceed $1,000.00 or by confinement in the county or other jail, county correctional institution, or such other places as counties may provide for maintenance of county inmates, for a total term not to exceed 12 months, or both

The dog owner will probably get probation and a fine if this is a first offense. She will forget about this after a while, and move on with her life. She will probably own more dogs and the possibility of this happening again does not diminish.  If this were an isolated incident, then I might understand the charges, but this is a problem. Dogs wandering neighborhoods and attacking people is not isolated, and happens far more often than is seen on the news. There is the old saying that the punishment should fit the crime. A $1000 dollar fine and a year in the local jail is far less suffering than what the victim and her family will have to go through.

Grumpy, angry police does not bode well for some of “us”

The following is a comment from the DeKalb officers speaks blog.

As I said before, and as “DeKalb Officers” point out, I will be there for you DeKalb. It’s in my “core being”. I’m just probably going to be grumpy as hell. Nothing to smile about anymore. Sorry, but can you blame me?

A grumpy police officer is a scary thought. The idea that an entire department is running around with a chip on its shoulder does not inspire confidence in me. I know not every DeKalb officer has these sentiments, but if enough do that can be a problem. check this comment:

Anonymous said…

To all of the officers with several years in. I don’t know how you made it. All of the turmoil you have been through, all the chaos, broken promises, paybacks, favorites and revenge. So let me say Thank you. Thank you for staying strong, for persevering, and for taking it one shift at a time. I cant go around saying it in person without looking like a serious a## kisser, so guys and gals I’ll say it here; I’m proud to be part of an agency that is still standing after all this crap.
and thanks DeKalb Officers blogsters, y’all are gangsta.

But BOC, CEO, and DeKalb Citizens, you could make it just a little bit easier for us….

What have we citizens done to DeKalb Police. Most citizens want a satisfied and professional police force. Many citizens including myself have said tax us just a bit more to keep public safety a number one priority. I have argued in the past that public safety should be the sacred cow of the county budget. Police officers saying they may respond a little slower to an emergency or be a little bit grumpy on the job is really scary and a bit unprofessional. A grumpy, angry, and upset man with a gun and a badge is not what I want to see the next time I get that speeding ticket on Candler.

Resident asks grand jury to investigate DeKalb commissioner

Resident asks grand jury to investigate DeKalb commissioner  | ajc.com.

Seems not everyone hs let Commissioner Barnes Sutton off the hook. It seems someone wants the DA to investigate whether Barnes Sutton used her position to get out of being taken to jail over outstanding warrants. I can’t say that the commissioner used her influence, but I know folks in jail on outstanding traffic warrants, so yes she should have been taken to jail. Why she wasn’t needs to be investigated. Maybe they should bring in another DA from another jurisdiction. That would let everyone one see that this thing is being handled as impartially as possible. One more thing. DA Keyes has turned down a previous request for an investigation by her office. Her excuse was that the cops were already looking into it. I want to see if she will investigate now that the cops have finished their investigation.

Newborn girl found in backpack in DeKalb park | ajc.com

Newborn girl found in backpack in DeKalb park  | ajc.com.

I’m really tired of these stories. Laws have been created to help keep things like this from happening. This is the second time in a week. This time in South DeKalb. Right now its a misdemeanor to abandon a baby. Maybe the act of abandoning a newborn should be a felony. Maybe it should be considered attempted murder, after all when you abandon a newborn, your intentions are not to see to it that the child survives. If the infants survival was your main goal, you would abandon him/her at a hospital, or fire station. I hope that fear of what a parent might say or do did not cause this person to make this decision. That kind of fear cannot be healthy.

Carjacking suspect killed, victim wounded in DeKalb shootout | ajc.com

Carjacking suspect killed, victim wounded in DeKalb shootout  | ajc.com.

This is what gets me. Why do some black men feel that the only way to get “stuff” is to try and take it. I say black men, because that is my world. I don’t live among white men, so I have no interest in what they do in their neighborhood. I try to teach the young men in my family that material wealth does not define who you are until you pull a stupid stunt like this. Working hard for something should be a value taught by parents. Being a carjack kid should not be taught as a value. I sure hope the victim fully recovers so he can have the last laugh.

Poor neighborhoods suffering; No security for them

Insecure > SundayPaper.com > The Sunday Paper :: All you need to know..

This is a great article from the Sunday Paper (Not AJC). This could be the future of much of South DeKalb. With the amount of abandoned houses, it is just a matter of time before the criminals realize the wealth of opportunity. I think much of South DeKalb is better off than their brethren in South Atlanta, but times are changing, and as middle-class residents flee South DeKalb for greener pastures in Rockdale and Henry, you will see more of the blight and criminal activity that you see in Mechanicsville. I feel the residents frustration at the local corner stores. These establishments exist to provide services to the criminal element. I would do everything legal to have them removed.