Newspaper Page Text
LOCAL
.A__4
CHAMPION!
Decatur officers Alejandro Santiago and Christopher Jameson pose outside the department’s
headquarters. Photo by Horace Holloman
Decatur officers save life
by Horace Holloman
horace@dekalbchamp.com
For Decatur police officers
Christopher Jameson and Alejandro
Santiago, the goal at the end of the day is
simple—make it home to their families.
On May 15 both officers not only
accomplished that goal, but helped
another man in need return home to his
family as well.
After responding to a nearby call
toward the end of their shift, Jameson
and Santiago helped save the life of a
local man believed to have overdosed on
heroin.
When the officers arrived, they noticed
the man unconscious in his car and not
responding to requests or breathing. After
removing the man from his car, Santiago
began CPR while Jameson relayed
information and helped stabilize the man.
After two or three chest compressions,
the man began to breath again.
“I’ve never been in a situation like
that before. Nothing more than putting
a bandaid on my daughter,” Jameson
said. “I would imagine acting fast was
pretty crucial. I don’t know how long you
can not breath before you suffer serious
brain damage. By the time (Decatur) Fire
Department showed up we were able to
get him breathing.”
At a recent city of Decatur commission
meeting, the officers were presented with
“life saving” awards for their hard work.
Both officers’ families attended the
award ceremony. Jameson said he’s
usually a private person when it comes to
his work and tries not to talk about work-
related incidents at home. However, he
said it felt good to have his family with him
while he received a “life saving” award.
During the commission meeting, the
audience watched body camera footage of
the incident.
“I don’t feel like I deserve a ‘hey great
job,’ but it felt good having my mom and
my daughter see that. It was beautiful and
also a little weird, but it came at a good
time when law enforcement could use a
little positivity,” Jameson said.
Santiago said he took a recertification
test for his CPR training just hours before
the incident. Little did he know he would
use the skills he learned earlier in the day
to potentially save someone’s life.
“It was at the end of the day and when
the call came out I just happened to be
right there,” Santiago said. “At the time
I didn’t know what I was doing. It was
almost automatic. I started CPR without
hesitation. About the second round of
compressions he started breathing.”
Santiago, a father of four, joined the
Decatur Police Department last year.
He said the department is committed
to making a positive impact on the
community.
“This is why we put on the uniform
every day. We could have chosen any
other profession. I could have got any
other job, but this isn’t just a job for me,
it’s a calling. I knew since I was a little kid
that this is what I wanted to do. I just want
to make a difference and be a good role
model,” Santiago said.
RECYCLE THIS PAPER -O
lA
m
^cyO
July 28 - Aug. 3, 2016 • Page 8A
DeKalb Southern Christian Leadership Conference president
Nathan Knight speaks in front of media July 19 outside the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Decatur. Photo
by Horace Holloman
DeKalb group asking
for answers from GBI
by Horace Holloman
horace@dekalbchamp.com
Black people don’t
hang themselves, at least
not on their own accord,
said representatives
of the DeKalb chapter
of Southern Christian
Leadership Conference
(SCLC), Black Lives
Matter and various other
civil rights organizations.
On July 19 protesters
gathered by the
steps of the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation
headquarters, located
in Decatur, to demand
a further explanation
and ask the GBI to get
involved in a case ruled as
a suicide in Atlanta after
a Black man was found
hanging from a tree.
The body of Michael
Georgia Smith, 22, was
found hanging from a tree
in Piedmont Park July 7.
The Fulton County Medical
Examiner’s Office ruled
the death a suicide.
According to the initial
police report, Smith did not
appear to have been in a
struggle and his death was
consistent with a suicide.
Smith had ear buds in
his ear and a backpack
attached to his waist.
SCLC DeKalb
President Nathan Knight
led the press conference
and said the SCLC wants
to know why the case was
ruled a suicide.
“We are asking clarity
for information concerning
a young man that was
hung in Piedmont Park.
We want questions
answered and we want
to know what the process
was,” Knight said. “We
are not trying to second
guess the work done by
any group or say that the
coroner’s report is lacking,
but what we are saying is
that we have a community
that we are responsible
to and right now that
community is demanding
answers we’re unable to
give.”
Reports circulated via
social media that Smith
could have struggled
with being a Black gay
man. Civil rights activist
Amos King said those
allegations were doubtful.
“He was Black his
whole life. How could he
struggle with being Black?”
King said.
King, who helped
lead rallies in support of
Anthony Hill, a Black
veteran shot and killed
by a DeKalb County
officer, said the medical
examiner’s office was too
quick in its decision to rule
the case a suicide.
In the upcoming days,
Knight said the SCLC will
continue to push for clarity
and hope to meet with
representatives from the
GBI.
“You want us to believe
that Black folk are suicidal.
Don’t fool yourself. The
best thing we’re going
to do is jump out of a
basement window. We’re
not going to be hanging
ourselves and going
through those changes,”
said former NAACP
DeKalb County president
John Evans. “We re in
critical times, not just
locally but nationally. Black
lives matter. I don’t care
under what conditions. We
have to be a little selfish.
They’ve been whipping up
on us all these years.”
