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Lenora Fulani * Page 8B
Inner-city residents complain, but receive no help as ~
Police surrender
to drug dealers
By Christy Allen
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
¢ AUGUSTA
If suspected drug dealers live
next door to you or across the
street all you have to do is call the
police and report it, right? That’s
what two inner city homeowners
thought — they were wrong.
According to Robert Wunderlich
and Ruby Garnett, two inner-city
homeowners, not only will the po
lice do nothing to suppress appar
ent drug trafficking, the police
appear to condone the activity.
Bothindividuals report that their
liveshave been threatened because
of their efforts to eradicate the
scoufge and policeare tired of hear
ing t the complaints. In fact,
they have told Ms. Garnett that if
shecpntinues to complain, she will
be i rated and police have
ted Mr. Wunderlich on the
stre of tmplaints by the
allegpd drug traffickers.
Eagh has taken a different route
in t#ying to end the nightmare
th ve been subjected to. While
Mr. Wunderlich has contacted ev
ery ¢ity agency and office holder
he ‘could think of, Ms. Garnett is
confident thatdivine intervention
FormerNAACP hoard memher miffed at MCG ““ban”
®An Augusia man Icess the terms of
a citation he received for trespassing
on MCG property is excessive and
racially motivated. MCG officials say
“warning” is merely way to inhibit
criminal activity.
By Frederick Benjamin Sr.
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
: AUGUSTA
Terence Dicks is irate. On Tuesday night, he
decided to take a shortcut home which happened to
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Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Maxine Waters, D-
Calif., left, accompanied by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-
D.C., meets reporters on Capitol Hill, Monday, May 11, 1998,
to discuss the spread of HIV and AIDS in the African-Ameri
can community, whicthistelc~ ing killsrefblael 5 2%.21
years old. Waters calied on President Clinton to deciare
“state of emergency” in the communities given the current
record rates of AIDS. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
Commentary: Is there life after affirmative action? Page S\
Entertainment: It's time for MAYFEST again!!! Page %8
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will eventually bring about the
desired result. Both residents have
abandoned any hope that the po
lice will eventually step in to pro
tect and serve. :
What follows is the account of
the two homeowners. No one from
the police department would re
spond to Augusta Focus queries
on the two cases. They would say
only that they were aware of the
cases.
The nightmare begins
Robert Wunderlich, 28, moved
into his home on Hicks Street 19
months ago. Very soon he noticed
that something was wrong. The
high volume of trafficin and out of
a neighbor’s home and the disor
derly conduct by the residents sug
gested that illegal activities may
be occurring. Hismother, a former
police officer, and also a resident
in his home, alerted him to the
signs. He reported the activity to
the police.
When Mr. Wunderlich initially
called the police to his aid, the
response from authorities was
prompt. “‘We will try and patrol
the area,’ is all the police officer
could tell me,” Mr. Wunderlich
said.
take ..im across a parking lot ¢-vned by i..e Medical
College of Georgia. Before he could safely reach his
destination, however, he was stopped by an MCG
police cruiser, lights flashing, who challenged him.
Mr. Dicks was issued a citation for trespassing,
which he signed, and was then permitted to proceed.
It was only after he got home and read the citation
carefully that he grew concerned — and then angry.
“It said I was banned from all MCG property. I
have friends and family on campus. Thisis one strike
and you're out!” Mr. Dicks said.
The language in the citation that concerned Mr.
Dicks reads as follows:
“...you are forbidden to enter upon the land or
premises of the Medical College of Georgia ... for any
reason other than to seek emergency medical care at
MAY 14 - 20, 1998
When the suspected drug deal
ers got wind of his complaints,
things got dangerous. After he in
formed authorities that a man
known as “Stone Cold” had threat
ened to kill him and his mother, an
officer told him, “I don’t want to
be bothered.” According to Mr.
Wunderlich, the officer’s last name
was Johnson.
Mr. Wunderlich thought that if
he made video tapes of the activ
ity, that would get the attention of
the police. So he made the tapes.
The police still refused to help.
Even going down to the police
headquarters was an exercise in
futility. According to Mr.
Waunderlich, one police lieutenant
told him, “Either you need to move
or, when in Rome do as the Ro
mansdo.” -
“I couldn’t believe what I was
hearing,” Mr. Wunderlich said.
“He was suggesting that, if I sold
drugs, they would stop threaten
ing me.” ‘
Things got really bizarre when
on April 17, 1998, Mr. Wunderlich.
was charged with disorderly con
duct in front of his home. The
complainant was one of the sus-
See RESIDENTS, page 3A
Black caucus seeks state of
emergency AIDS declaration
BHIV and AIDS is now the
leading killer among blacks
between the ages of 24 and
44, legislators say.
By Darlene Superville
ASSOCIATED PRESS Writer :
WASHINGTON
The Congressional Black Caucus said
Monday it will ask Health and Human
Services Secretary Donna Shalala to de
clare a “state of emergency” in the black
community over HIV and AIDS, which is
the leading killer of blacks 25-44 years old.
“This is a national crisis ... and we cannot
rest until it is considered as one,” said Rep.
Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who chairs the
39-member group.
An HHS spokeswoman said the depart
ment was reviewing its options. .
Waters announced the decision after a
meeting at the Capitol involving caucus
members, AIDS activists and medical pro
fessionals.
She said the decision to declare a medical
state of emergency is done by the health
sespetaryinconsulration with relat Ingon
cies, such as tiie Centers for Discuse Con
trol and Prevention. Among other things,
such a step could lead to increased funding
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the Medical College of Georgia Regional 7'rauma
Center. In the event you must seek such medical
care you are to immediately notify a Medical Col
lege of Georgia police officer of your presence on
our facility and state the reason for your presence.”
Mr. Dicks, who is black, feels that the “ban” is
discriminatory. “This is an excessive use of police
power on state property. The only reason this is
done is because I am a black male,” he said.
According to Mitch Jones, MCG chief of police, the
languageistough for areason. “Wetry to control who
comes and goes as best we can. We have had a lot of
car breakins in that area [Parking Lot 1 where Dicks
was cited],” he said. “We are a lot more strict in the
See MCG, page 3A
for the disease, she said.
The government allocated about $3 bil
lion for AIDS this year; President Clinton
has proposed increasing that to $3.8 billion
in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
Benny Primm, executive director of the
Addiction Research and Treatment Corp.
in New York, said blacks _ who are 13
percent of the population _account for 36
percent of all AIDS cases.
“One only has to look at the statistics ...
to know this money ought to be following
the epidemic,” Primm told a news confer
ence. “It has not.”
In 1996, HIV and AIDS dropped to the
second-leading cause of death among
Americans 25-44 years old, but remains
the leading cause of death among blacks in
the same age group.
Annual AIDS deaths among all groups
have declined, but not significantly among
blacks, officials said.
The Clinton administration, as part of
the president’s race initiative, has an
nounced plans to reduce health disparities
among minorities in six areas by 2010,
including HIV and AIDS.
“We certainly agree with the Congres
sional Black Caucus that minority commu
nitiss li~~» been especial'y hard L't by t e
AIDS epidemic,” said HHS spokeswoman
Melissa Skolfield. “It’s something that we
consider to be urgent.”
Black police group speaks
out against turnpike shooting
By Deepti Hajela
ASSOCIATED PRESS Writer
RIDGEFIELD, N.J.
Representatives of a black law enforcement group
said state troopers were making it unsafe for people
of color to travel the state’s highways, and called for
federal intervention in the wake of last month’s
shooting of minority men by troopers on the New
Jersey Turnpike.
About 10 members of 100 Blacks in Law Enforce
ment, a New York-based group, rode a caravan of
eight vehicles Sunday from New York to the Vince
Lombardi Service Area on the New Jersey Turn-
See BLACK POLICE, page 3A
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