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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.”