Newspaper Page Text
LOCAL
THURSDAY, JULY 20,2017 • Page 5A
HILL
Continued From Page 1A
Hill. A court order issued in
November of 2016 allowed
DeKalb County to demolish
four buildings totaling 68
units.
On July 13 to July 14,
county workers removed
debris from two buildings
that included 28 units.
“You cannot live in this
blight, you cannot live in this
trash. We need your help,
please. We cannot live in
this condition anymore,”
Bured said.
Bured said one of his
cousin’s daughters did not
want her classmates to
drop by her house for her
birthday because she was
embarrassed by the living
conditions.
“This is mentally hurtful
for a child to go through. We
need your help,” Bured said.
DeKalb County
Development is providing
$400,000 in community
development block grant
funding to address the
blighted conditions. An
estimated 150 loads of
debris will be hauled to the
landfill, according to county
officials.
The complex, which
was built in 1973, has 186
inhabited units. Roughly
108 units are in disrepair,
according to county officials.
During the press
conference, DeKalb County
CEO Michael Thurmond
said, “Supporting the
families that live here in
Brannon Hill is our biggest
priority. We want to improve
the quality of life for all of
our citizens.”
DeKalb County
Sanitation provided trucks
and equipment for the
demolition process and
transporting debris.
“Cleaning up Brannon
Hill, or any other blighted
property, is a matter of
improving public health,
public safety and quality
of life,” said Thurmond.
“Reducing blight
stabilizes and revitalizes
neighborhoods and
development, which is
why its elimination is so
critical.” Thurmond also
thanked DeKalb County
Commissioners Nancy
Jester, Gregory Adams
and Steve Bradshaw,
who were all at the press
conference.
Jester said DeKalb
County seems to be moving
in the right direction in blight
remediation. Jester, who
said she’s visited Brannon
Hill to talk to residents more
than 20 times, said it’s time
for the county to start taking
blight seriously.
“We’ve come a long way.
I’ve made several trips to
this property and talked to
the residents and I’ve seen
the stressful situations that
they are in,” Jester said.
“This impacts all of DeKalb
County whether you live in
District 1 or you’re right here
in District 4. This has been
a long day coming.”
PROTEST
Continued From Page 1A
for money. Once Larscheid arrived
at the scene, McCary—who
allegedly told the officer she was
a federal agent and gave him a
fake badge number—tried to grab
the officer’s badge and a scuffle
ensued, according to the incident
report.
Larscheid said he struck
McCrary an “unknown amount of
times” on her left leg. The incident
was caught on video and posted to
various social media platforms.
Civil rights groups in DeKalb
County said the officer went too far
and should be fired.
“We want justice for this woman.
She was accosted by a DeKalb
County Police officer because she
was begging for money. Where’s
the crime in that?” said Dekalb
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference President Nathan
Knight in a protest at the DeKalb
County Police headquarters in
Tucker July 14.
Knight said he respects the
DeKalb County Police Department
saying, “this is one of the finest
departments in the nation,” but
wants Larscheid to be held
accountable for his actions.
In the video posted online,
McCrary can be seen on the
ground grabbing Larscheid’s baton.
Larscheid then said, “let it go or I’m
going to shoot you” multiple times.
DeKalb County Police Chief
James Conroy issued a statement
regarding the incident.
“The Georgia Bureau of
Investigation has agreed to conduct
an investigation of a June 4 use
of force incident involving DeKalb
Police Officer P.J. Larscheid. The
request was made following a
meeting with DeKalb County CEO
Michael Thurmond, who stressed
the importance of a factual,
independent investigation based on
the new video evidence and other
pertinent information,” said Conroy.
The DeKalb Pastors Alliance
held a press conference at
Greenforest Community Baptist
Church in Decatur on July 14.
In a statement, the DPA said it
has “zero tolerance for this type of
treatment of any person.”
Protests in support of McCrary
are planned for this month including
a protest by the New Order National
Human Rights Organization
(NONHRO).
A statement from NONHRO
said it plans to “interrupt the county
commission meeting” and demand
Larscheid be fired. The organization
said it plans to specifically request
commissioners Larry Johnson,
Gregory Adams and DeKalb
County CEO Thurmond to take
action.
See related story on page 8A
