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THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS • THE COMMERCE NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2016
Commerce police hold forum
to explain the use of force
DOT shifts lanes
on Hwy. 15A at
entry to Jefferson
Motorists heading to Jefferson from Commerce will
experience a traffic shift at the intersection of Hwy. 82 to the
north side of Jefferson.
The Georgia Department of Transportation announces
that it will close a portion of Hwy. 15/Hwy. 82 between
Hwy. 15 and Storey Street to detour travelers east on Hwy.
335 in Jefferson. The change was due to take effect today
(Wednesday).
The detour relates to the construction project to improve
traffic flow into Jefferson from Hwy. 82 and Hwy 15.
Thee detour will last through late September.
The DOT reminds motorists to reduce their speed and
use caution in and around the construction zone.
Manufacturer
announces plans
to come to Jefferson
A public fomm held by the
Commerce Police Depart
ment last week offered clar
ity about how and under
what circumstances police
officers utilize force, but only
a handful of citizens showed
up for the presentation.
Not counting police and
public officials in the audi
ence at the Commerce
Public Library fewer than a
dozen citizens attended the
department’s second “town
hall” meeting of 2016.
Cpt. Ken Harmon called
police use of force “a widely
discussed topic today, a lot
of that because the media
is reporting everything to
us after the Michael Brown
shooting.” He added that
there is a perception in the
public that the police have
become bmtal, a perception
he said is perpetuated by
“the media.”
“Is it any more or less than
ever happened before?” he
questioned.
In fact, Harmon used a
video to make the case that
deadly force is very seldom
used, the proliferation of
media accounts notwith
standing. The video purport
ed that the Bureau of Justice
investigated 26,000 com
plaints for use of excessive
force — a number represent
ing less than half a percent
of police interactions with
citizens — and found that
just four-tenths of a percent
of that half percent to be
sustained.
“You are seven times
more likely to be murdered,
16 times more likely to be
killed in a wreck and 42
times more likely to be
raped, probably not by a
cop,” the narrator stated,
compared to the odds of
being abused by a police
officer.”
Data from the video report
edly came from 2010 or 2012.
“I don’t know that it’s
changed that much,” Har
mon said of current statistics.
Harmon spelled out the
escalating types of “force,”
ranging from just the officer’s
presence to “soft hands,”
“hard hands,” intermediate
weapons and deadly force,
and explained how each
might be used in accor
dance with Georgia law. He
also briefed the audience on
things an officer must take
into consideration before
using force.
Certified officers, Harmon
said, may use deadly force
when a suspect “is likely to
or actually results in serious
injury” and when the officer
“reasonably believes” that
the officer or another party is
at risk of injury or death.
The Commerce Police
Department policy on use of
force states that, “officers use
only that force that is reason
ably necessary to effectively
bring an incident under con
trol while protecting the lives
of the officer and all other
persons involved.”
Harmon said officers must
balance all of the factors. “If
we’re out of balance, we’re
bullies,” he stated.
Harmon also discussed
the use of tasers, which “peo
ple don’t understand,” and
showed a video of officer
Jason Black being tased in
a training exercise. A taser
is one of the “intermediate
weapons” whose use is by
definition, “use of force that
can’t kill somebody.” People
who die after being tased, he
said, have other underlying
issues.
Use of deadly force — pri
marily a firearm — requires
a three-pronged test that
includes determining wheth
er the suspect has the abil
ity to harm someone, the
opportunity to harm some
one and whether someone
is in jeopardy from that per
son.
Harmon showed two short
videos of the same police
shooting. The first was from
the dash camera of a police
vehicle at the conclusion of
a chase. It shows a male
subject exiting the vehicle,
walking away and being shot
by officers — seemingly with
out justification. The other
video, from another dash
camera at a different angle,
shows a different perspec
tive. In that video, the suspect
clearly holds a gun, refus
es commands to stop and
turns around, gun in hand, at
which point an officer shoots
him.
“Video is highly effective,
but it provides only a portion
of understanding the totali
ty of something,” Harmon
noted. He revealed that city
police have dash cameras,
body cameras and even the
tasers are equipped with
cameras.
In his 14 years on the
police force, Harmon said
the police department has
used deadly force three
times.
“Our intent is to use the
minimal force necessary as
required of us by our depart
ment policy,” he said. “We
really don’t want to use force.
...We don’t want to have to
hurt anybody. ...It’s really not
part of what we want to do to
actually have to use force.”
Community Policing
In response to a question
about “community policing,”
police chief Brandon Sellers
said the department is work
ing to “change the culture of
all the officers” by encourag
ing face-to-face encounters
with citizens. “Get out and
talk to that gentleman sitting
on the porch,” he said as an
example.
Ward 1 councilman Archie
Chaney advised police to do
just that.
“Don’t just go by speak to
them let them get to know
you. That would be nice,” he
said. Chaney told the officers
that he hears a lot of com
plaints about police from
constituents.
Nathan Anderson offered
similar comments, complain
ing that police only come
into his neighborhood when
someone calls 911.
“The only time we notice
you guys’ presence is when
something goes wrong,” he
said. “...As long as it’s black-
on-black crime, nobody
got killed, that’s fine. ...We
should see more presence of
police besides when some
body is raising hell or shoot
ing guns. We need more visi
bility in the police.”
Anderson’s comments
came in the midst of the
presentation. Harmon
responded by pointing out
that the subject was off
topic, but offered to contin
ue that discussion after the
forum.
Harmon and Sellers told
the group of other efforts
— another forum, regular
“coffee with a cop” events,
and a “National Night Out”
event planned for August at
the Boys & Girls Club build
ing — designed to facilitate
communication between
police and city residents.
Georgia Department of
Economic Development
(GDEcD) announced last
Friday that Hubbell Incor
porated, an international
manufacturer of electrical
and electronic products,
will locate in the Jefferson
Distribution Center. The
move is expected to create
100 new jobs.
“Hubbell Incorporat
ed’s decision to open a
new facility in Jackson
County is a great win for
the region,” said GDEcD
commissioner Chris Carr.
“They will be able to tap
into a talented workforce
and business-friendly envi
ronment that will help
them better serve a grow
ing customer base.”
Hubbell Incorporated
was started by Harvey
Hubbell in 1888. Today,
Hubbell’s four groups —
Hubbell Commercial /
Industrial (HCI), Hubbell
Lighting (HLI), Hubbell
Construction / Energy
(HCE) and Hubbell Power
Systems (HPS) — offer a
unique set of brands and
products.
“We are excited to open
this new facility in Jeffer
son, Georgia,” said Kevin
Poyck, president of Hub
bell Lighting. “The building
and the location are a great
strategic fit for our com
pany.”
Since the company’s
inception, Hubbell has
evolved from a fami
ly-owned business to a
global player with 2015
revenues of $3.4 billion.
Hubbell offers a portfolio
of more than 70 brands,
supported by an interna
tional workforce of more
than 16,000 employees and
agents.
“We’re delighted Hub
bell Incorporated has
chosen Jackson County
to locate this important
new facility,” said Jackson
County Board of Commis
sioners chairman Tom
Crow. “We welcome Hub
bell to this great commu
nity and look forward to a
long-term, mutually benefi
cial partnership.”
“The city of Jefferson is
excited to be selected as
the location for the new
Hubbell Incorporated
warehouse and distribution
facility in the Jefferson Dis
tribution Industrial Park,”
said Mayor Roy Plott. “This
will add to the diversity
of companies doing busi
ness in the Jefferson area
and the 100 new jobs are
always welcome.”
Braselton approves FY2017 budget
Braselton’s Town Council has approved its fiscal year 2017
General Fund budget. The council unanimously approved
the $3.4 million budget at its June 30 meeting.
Revenues are expected to total at $4.8 million, up 4.2
percent from FY2016. The town’s reserves are expected to
total $512,900 (down approximately $200) after debt service
payments.
Expenses are up almost six percent from FY2016, with
increases in all departments except for the economic devel
opment department.
Braselton’s Police Department has the largest budget of
all the departments, totaling $1.48 million. Its budget had a
six percent increase this year, the majority of which is for
salaries and health insurance.
The town’s planning department has the second highest
budget totaling $483,800, up 10 percent from last year. Most
of the increase is also from salaries and health insurance.
WATER/SEWER
The town’s water department expects a $370,000 decrease
in revenues and a $536,000 decrease in its expenses. This
would increase its reserves to $844,900.
Expenses are expected to increase in administration,
wastewater, water and stormwater. The overall decrease in
expenses is from lower debt payments next year.
HIGHLIGHTS
Highlights from the proposed FY2017 budget include:
• Electric franchise fees are expected to continue as the
town’s largest revenue source ($690,000). Other large sourc
es of income (over $400,000) are hotel/motel tax, insurance
premiums, building permits and court fines.
• The proposed budget shows a decrease in building per
mit revenues next year, down 15 percent to $425,000.
Approved 2017 Budget
Expenses by Department
Department
FY2016
FY2017
Elections
$7,000
$8,500
Mayor and council
239,213
273,715
General admin
250,000
252,768
Municipal court
132,245
142,395
Police
1.4 million
1.48 million
Roads
196,729
204,407
Parks
7,934
7,966
Library
181,660
188,935
Planning/dev.
436,360
483,808
Economic dev.
398,140
396,805
Total
$3.2 million
$3.4 million
OTHER BUDGETS
The town’s Downtown Development Authority, Visitors
Bureau Authority and Urban Development Authority budgets
were all passed unanimously.
Almost half of the Braselton Visitors Bureau Authority
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budget was cut, totaling $315,100.
The town’s Urban Redevelopment Agency budget is
expected to increase less than $1,000.
The Downtown Development Authority’s budget is expect
ed to increase less than $1,000.
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