Newspaper Page Text
The True Citizen, Wednesday, April 14, 2021 — Page 7A
® FOR THE RECORD
General Assembly repeals
Georgia’s citizen’s arrest law
BEAU EVANS
DAVE WILLIAMS
Capitol Beat News Service
Legislation repealing Geor
gia’s 150-year-old citizen’s
arrest law gained final pas
sage in the General Assembly
March 31.
On the final day of this
year’s legislative session, the
state House of Representatives
unanimously passed a bill sup
ported by Gov. Brian Kemp
and legislative leaders as a
follow-up to the hate-crimes
law the General Assembly
enacted last year.
The measure stems from
the shooting death last year
of Ahmaud Arbery, a Black
jogger who was cornered near
Brunswick by two white men
in pickup trucks and shot dead.
The defendants have cited the
citizen’s arrest law in their
defense.
Under the bill, owners of
retail shops and restaurants
would still be permitted to
detain shoplifters on their
premises.
It would also allow police
officers who are off-duty or
outside their jurisdiction to
make arrests if they witness
a crime or have knowledge a
crime was recently committed.
The legislation now goes to
Kemp for his signature.
BURKE EMA REPORT
The Burke County Emergency Management Agency
responded to 118 patients’ calls during the week ending
April 11.
Of those, 71 resulted in transports, including 40 to Augusta
hospitals. Thirty seven of the transports were determined to
be emergencies and 34 were non-emergent.
The agency also answered 12 fire calls during the week.
They included one brush/grass fire, one power line down,
five rescues, one woods fire, two public service calls and
two unspecified calls.
Sheriff
Continued from front
BURKE COUNTY JAIL BOOKINGS
APRIL 5-11
Whitney Danielle
Ellison, 21
Magnolia Acres,
Waynesboro
BCSO, April 7
State Court misde
meanor sentence
Timothy Albert
Williams, 18
Savannah A/e.,
Waynesboro
WPD, April 11
Burglary in the 1st
degree
Cassandra
Shereka Scott, 37
River Road,
Waynesboro
BCSO, April 5
Failure to yield
while turning left;
driving without a
valid license-misde
meanor; Jail Court
Sanctions
Laura Ashley
Ivey, 31
Hadden Pond Road,
Waynesboro
BCSO, April 6
Probation violation-
felony
Thomas Willie
Bates, 38
Wallace St.,
Waynesboro
WPD, April 5
Disorderly conduct-
city ordinance;
"housing for WPD**
Shainice Daishun
Deasia Jackson, 24
New Karleen Road,
Hephzibah
WPD, April 11
Battery (family
violence)- 1st offense-
misdemeanor
Donjane Aljavonte
Blockett, 23
North Hill St.,
Sardis
BCSO April 6
DU/-driving under
the influence (al
cohol); speeding
79/55mph zone
Jordan Tyrique
Moore, 18
StoneAve., Waynes
boro
WPD, April 11
Burglary- 1st degree
(felony)
Carlton Davis, 56
Cain St.,
Waynesboro
WPD, April 7
Driving under the
influence of alcohol-
concentration is
0.8gm or more, 21
or over
Taylor Zavier
Boyd, 28
Briar Creek Estates,
Waynesboro
BCSO, April 5
DU/-driving under
the influence (alco
hol); following too
closely; too fast for
conditions; failure to
maintain lane
Laci Nicole
Muns, 18
Beaver Dam Road,
Sardis
BCSO, April 9
Bench warrant-
Magistrate Court
Michael Lee
Sorrells, 56
Farmers Bridge
Road, Hephzibah
BCSO, April 9
Trafficking in
methamphetamine;
obscuring tag frame
or tinted tag covers
prohibited
Deysi Paola
Alarcon-Morales,
23
Seven Oaks Road,
Waynesboro
BCSO, April 7
Driving wh ile
license suspended
or revoked-mis-
demeanor; failure
to maintain lane;
hit and run-duty of
driver to stop at or
return to scene of
accident
tk
Perry Ben Reed, 60
GA. Hwy 56 North,
Waynesboro
BCSO, April 7
Obstruction of
law enforcement
officers-fediony
Lora Leeann
Ward, 27
Corley Road,
Hephzibah
BCSO, April 5
Driving while
license suspended
or revoked-mis
demeanor; State
Court Jail Sanc
tions
John Michael
Harrison, 58
Middleground Road,
Waynesboro
WPD, April 7
Tags: alteration
or improperly
transferred; lighted
head/ights/other
lights required; no
insurance; license:
driving without
license on person;
tag light required,
**,housing for
WPD**; safekeep
ing for Richmond
County SO (simple
assault)
Jo’quan Ke’undre
Clark, 23
Givens Church
Road, Girard
BCSO, April 6
Possession of a fire
arm by a convicted
felon; seatbelt adult;
safekeeping for GA.
DCS Office (proba
tion violation)
Gary Webster
Dunn, 60
William Tin ley Road,
Keysville
BCSO, April 6
Simple battery-fam
ily violence; bond
surrender notice
(terroristic threats
& acts, obstruction
of an officer-misde
meanor
AGENCIES
BCSO: Burke County Sheriff’s Office;
WPD: Waynesboro Police Department;
GSP: Georgia State Patrol;
MPD: Midville Police Department;
SPD: Sardis Police Department;
DOC: Department of Corrections
DNR: Department of Natural Resources
DISCLAIMER NOTICE: ALL ARE PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAW
1022 N. Liberty St., Waynesboro - 706-551-0876
qualified officers.
“It’s for a number of rea
sons ,” he said. “It’s not because
the world is so crazy and every
body dislikes the police.”
Williams attributed the prob
lems to leaders who are in posi
tions where they are sacrificing
the profession for their own
good.
“If you work for city police
you can’t say the truth or speak
out and do what needs to be
done because you are afraid
for your job and you are afraid
that the City Council is going
to fire you,” he said. “If you
are a sheriff, some of them are
afraid to speak out because
they are elected officials and
if they go too far left or right,
then they are afraid they won’t
be reelected.”
Williams said he feels
strongly that police education
and on-the-job training needs
to evolve.
“That is what we did 50 years
ago,” he said. “If you were
white, male, 6’3”, and 185 lbs,
then we wanted you to be on
the force and we would simply
hand you a badge and a gun and
say ‘go out and do the job.’”
Changes in technology, laws
and society dictate more pro
fessionalism, he said.
“If you expect to get profes
sionalism, then you have to
expect to professionalize the
profession,” he said. “I submit
that we start with better stan
dards.”
There is a hesitation to raise
the standards because it makes
officers more marketable.
However, raising the standards
will ultimately lead to higher
pay, he said.
18-year-old kids are not
equipped to police older peo
ple, he said. They do not have
life or work experience or
understand enough about di
versity to know what to do.
However, Williams is not look
ing for drastic change.
“We are not going to get rid
of the folks who have GEDs,”
he said. “That is not what I’m
saying at all.”
He wants to see the standards
improve over time.
Higher education is not the
only area he believes needs
improvement. He wants to
see national standards for use-
of- force, body cameras and
retirement.
“In Waynesboro, Burke
County, Georgia a person has
to work until he’s in his late
60’s just to afford retirement,
he said. “This is not a job for
somebody who is 65 years
old.”
Older age increases the prob
ability of using force, he said.
Senior citizens do not have the
ability to wrestle with someone
half their age.
Williams said in 2021 all law
enforcement leaders should
be pushing for body cameras.
It eliminates the “he said-she
said” element of investigating
crimes. There needs to be more
accountability to the people
who law enforcement officers
serve. It’s the “good ole boys”
who won’t let it pass, he said.
“I know we put our lives on
the line, I know we don’t know
if we are going home at the end
of the shift,” he said. “But as
a citizen, you want more than
that.”
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FIRE HYDRANT FLUSHING &
VALVE EXERCISING
The City of Sardis will be flushing water hydrants
April 19th - 20TH, 2021
Water customers are cautioned to continually check for
discoloration, which may occur because of the flushing,
particularly prior to using washing machines.
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