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Aug. 4-10, 2016 » Page 2A
Retired Chamblee officers to keep on-duty firearm
Chamblee police chief Donny Williams poses with residents David Gilley, Erin
Womack and councilman John Mesa. Picture submitted.
by R. Scott Belzer
sbelzer@dekalbchamp.com
Police officers in Chamblee will
be able to retain their firearms upon
retirement following a recent city
council ruling.
The decision is based on SB
263, which amends the Georgia
Code Annotated to allow cities and
municipalities to govern their law
enforcement divisions by adopting
policies of their own.
“The governing authority of each
municipality and county in this state
and each board of education which
employs sworn police officers who are
certified by the Georgia Peace Officer
Standards and Training Council may
adopt policies under which such
sworn officers, upon retirement from
employment by such municipality,
county, or board of education or upon
leaving such employment as a result
of a disability arising in the line of
duty, shall be entitled, as part of his or
her compensation, to retain his or her
weapon and badge,” reads the official
wording of the bill.
Chamblee Police Chief Donny
Williams presented the item to city
council on July 19 and received
unanimous approval.
According to the agenda item, it
is already customary for fellow police
officers to purchase a replacement
firearm for retirees as a retirement
gift. In addition, officers receive
badges, shoulder patches and name
tags.
The agenda item suggested
retired officers are the best
candidates for retaining and
possessing weapons as they rejoin
the public.
“Qualified and retired police
officers are permitted to carry
firearms nationwide under the Law
Enforcement Officers Safety Act
(LEOSA),” reads the agenda item.
“They must possess a retired police
ID, Georgia POST ID, and continue
to demonstrate firearms proficiency
yearly. In today’s world, having
veteran retired police officers who
may be armed is just another first line
of defense in any imminent threat
situations.”
Williams said council members
questioned how often retired officers
would be tested in Chamblee.
“That’s a high-liability area, so
they’ll go by the same standard as
post, which is yearly,” Williams said.
Williams said he heard about the
bill from a Hall County newspaper,
where Gainesville police officers re
cently adopted the practice of keeping
their on-duty firearm. He said he had
been considering the possibility of a
similar policy in Chamblee when trag
edy struck Minnesota, Louisiana and
Texas in early July.
“It seems, timing wise, maybe this
wasn’t the right time, but then I got
to thinking, maybe this is the perfect
time,” Williams said. “This is another
way to show our appreciation for their
service. It’s a practice that’s popular
up north and in Marietta.”
Williams said allowing officers to
keep the weapons they are used to
rather than a new gun would increase
their effectiveness and remind them
of their time serving Chamblee.
“We have a core group of guys
that are nearing retirement,” Williams
said. “This is something the governor
thought was worthy enough to sign
and we think it’s worthy enough to do.
It helps the department tell them ‘job
well done.’”
West Nile virus reported in Brookhaven
by Carla Parker
carla@dekalbchamp.com
A mosquito collection
from a DeKalb County Board
of Health sampling station in
Brookhaven tested positive
for West Nile virus, the city
announced in an email July
22.
The sampling station is
located in the Ashford Park
area.
The email said the
DeKalb County Board of
Health is working to prevent
transmission of West Nile
virus or any additional mos
quito-borne virus, including
chikungunya orZika. Pro
gram technicians will be in
the area providing additional
mosquito control services,
including applying larvicide
and investigating for mos
quito breeding sites, accord
ing to the city. The larvicide
product, metheprene, will
keep mosquito larvae from
developing into flying biting
insects.
Along with the larvi
cide treatment, the city is
encouraging residents to
eliminate containers and
other removable breeding
sites that may hold water
for five or more days. Some
items such as bird baths
should be dumped, scrubbed
and rinsed twice a week,
but need continual atten
tion. Gutters should also
be cleaned and checked to
make sure they drain prop
erly.
According to the Cen
ters for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), most
people who become infected
with West Nile virus do not
develop symptoms. About
one person in five who is
infected will develop a fever
with other symptoms such as
headache, body aches, joint
pains, vomiting, diarrhea, or
rash. Most people with this
type of West Nile virus dis
ease recover completely, but
fatigue and weakness can
last for weeks or months, ac
cording to the CDC.
Less than 1 percent of
people who are infected will
develop a serious neurologic
illness such as encephalitis
or meningitis—inflammation
of the brain or surrounding
tissues, according to the
CDC.
The symptoms of
neurologic illness can include
headache, high fever, neck
stiffness, disorientation,
coma, tremors, seizures or
paralysis. Serious illness
can occur in people of
any age, however, people
older than 60 years of
age are at the greatest
risk for severe disease,
according to the CDC.
People with certain medical
conditions, such as cancer,
diabetes, hypertension,
kidney disease, and people
who have received organ
transplants, are also at
greater risk for serious
illness.
See West Nile on Page 4A
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