Cobb Police said Wednesday that a driver fell asleep behind the wheel this morning on Interstate 575 at Interstate 75, resulting in a crash that sent the driver and two passengers to the hospital.
Cobb Police said Prasanth Kotharu, 27, Jayakumar Palanisamy, 31, of Dunwoody, and Samuel Anbumani, 33, of Dunwoody, were taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital with serious injuries.
According to a statement sent out by police, Kotharu was driving a black 2020 Hyundai Elantra southbound on I-575 near the merger with I-75 around 7:30 Wednesday morning when the driver fell asleep.
Police said the car veered off the road and onto a grass shoulder, then dropped down an embankment, crashed into a concrete drainage channel and rolled to one side before coming to a stop.
Police said they’re continuing to investigate and that anyone with information is asked to call investigators at 770-499-3987.
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Cobb District Attorney Joyette Holmes said Wednesday she will request an independent investigation into the recent deaths of Cobb jail inmates.
Holmes’ office issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying she intends to ask the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia to conduct the probe, following a federal lawsuit filed last week by the family of Kevil Wingo.
He was being held at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on a drug possession charge in September 2019, and died in custody after begging for medical help from jail staff.
Wingo’s family, through attorney Timothy Gardner, had asked for an independent investigation, and here’s what Holmes said in response:
“The files that Mr. Gardner obtained through open records requests to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office were submitted to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office, media, and other organizations. Those materials should be a part of an independent investigation into Mr. Wingo’s death and other inmate deaths at the jail. As I have previously stated, I am committed to ensuring that matters of public safety and the concerns of our citizens be addressed by our office or referred to the appropriate agency without favor or fear.”
Wingo, who was 36 at the time of his death, had complained of an ulcer and said he was having trouble breathing. According to the lawsuit, he was taken to an isolation room at the jail, and died an hour later after being taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital.
In February, the Cobb Medical Examiner’s Office issued a report saying Wingo died of natural causes, with complications due to a perforated gastric ulcer.
Wingo is one of eight inmates to have died at Cobb jail since June of last year. According to 11Alive, his death wasn’t made public until the Cobb Sheriff’s Office, which oversees jail operations, completed an internal investigation.
The Wingo family lawsuit was filed against Wellstar Health system, six nurses and three sheriff’s deputies.
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Marietta Police are looking for a vehicle they say struck a road construction worker on Interstate 75 near Delk Road Saturday night.
The construction worker, identified as Martin Rivera, 30, of Chicago, was pronounced dead on the scene, according to Marietta Police.
They said Rivera was placing signage on the shoulder of I-75 northbound, just north of Delk Road, around 8:53 p.m. when he was hit by two vehicles.
Police said the first vehicle, which may be a black Volkswagen Golf GTI, fled the scene. The driver of the second vehicle did stop and is cooperating with the investigation, according to police.
Marietta Police are asking for the public’s help finding the first vehicle, which they said “abruptly” exited I-75 north on the South Marietta Parkway exit ramps.
Police said anyone who may have seen the incident or who has information should call STEP Investigator C. Henry at 770-794-5364.
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Cobb Police said a woman died Tuesday morning when her car collided with a dump truck near the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford intersection.
Police said Janet Muse, 62 of Roswell, was pronounced dead at the scene.
She was driving a 2010 Lincoln around 10:40 a.m. and was attempting to turn left from Chimney Lake Drive on to Shallowford Road eastbound when her car was hit by a dump truck heading west on Shallowford, according to police.
Police said the truck, driven by Keith Rosado, 50, of Cartersville, had a green light, and struck the driver’s side of the Lincoln in the intersection.
Police said Rosado was unhurt. The crash investigation is continuing and anyone with information is asked to call Cobb Police at 770-499-3987.
The Johnson Ferry-Shallowford intersection and surrounding areas were closed for a time after the accident but traffic reopened by mid-afternoon.
ORIGINAL REPORT, 1:30 P.M.
The busy intersection of Johnson Ferry Road and Shallowford Road is closed due to a fatal crash Tuesday.
According to a Cobb government message posted around 1:20 p.m., the accident vehicles have been cleared, but Cobb police and fire units are conducting an investigation into the crash. The closure is expected to last for several hours.
No other information about the incident is immediately available. Officer Shenise McDonald, a Cobb Police public information officer, said more details will be coming.
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The brother of a Kell High School student who was killed last week in a bicycle crash has begun a college scholarship fund for an autistic student, and to fund autism research.
Robbie Schulz, 15, was a sophomore at Kell when he died last Wednesday after he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle on North Marietta Parkway near Interstate 75.
The boy, who also attended pre-kindergarten at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, Timber Ridge Elementary School and Hightower Trail Middle School in East Cobb, was autistic.
Nicholas Schulz, in forming what he calls “Team Robby,” said his brother “was the smartest person I’ve ever known” and “was incredibly outgoing, sweet, and kind-hearted.” The fundraising campaign has raised nearly $25,000.
In his obituary, Robby Schulz was praised by his teachers. “He taught me compassion and that it was okay to be different,” said Andrea Cilluffo, his science and social studies teacher at Hightower Trail. “He taught me to teach from the heart because words were just words and sometimes words just didn’t explain what the heart could. Robby made me a better teacher and a better human.”
At Kell, he was a member of a Dungeon & Dragons club. “Robby was a kind soul and I will fondly remember his eruptions of delight when he cast just the right spell to save the day,” said Douglas LaVigne, the club’s faculty leader.
Robby belonged to Cub Scout Pack 795 at Mt. Zion UMC and Boy Scout Troop 713 at St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church.
In addition to Nicholas Schulz, Robby’s survivors include his parents, Jim and Alex Schulz, brother Derek Schulz and twin sister Lizzy Schulz.
A visitation is scheduled for family and friends Wednesday from 5-7 p.m. at Mayes-Ward-Dobbins Funeral Home in Marietta, and a memorial service will be held there Thursday at 11 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made to Team Robby, Hillside or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
Marietta Police said the accident took place around 4:20 p.m. Wednesday when a 2010 Nissan Maxima driven by Desmond Sipplin, 25, of Marietta, and heading eastbound on North Marietta Parkway, struck the bicycle near the intersection of the I-75 northbound ramp.
Police are continuing to investigate the crash, and anyone with information is asked to call 770-794-5384.
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That’s also where Carolyn Meadows, a longtime conservative and Republican Party activist and the current president of the National Rifle Association, lives.
She’s supporting Republican Karen Handel in her bid to win back her 6th Congressional District seat. Brian Robinson, who’s working on Handel’s campaign, passed along these photos from Meadows’ property, including a sign in her yard.
At a Monday event at the Temple Kol Emeth synagogue in East Cobb, Commissioner Bob Ott said that what’s transpired is “not who we are.”
Robinson also sent the following statement from Handel:
“I join with Commissioner Ott and the entire East Cobb community in taking a zero-tolerance approach to this hate. Sadly, my campaign has been a victim of these bigoted vandals as well. These criminals recently defaced campaign signs with disgusting anti-Semitic symbols. Our community will not tolerate this kind of hate.”
The fence and signs on Meadows’ property are spray-painted with swastikas and “MAGA,” the “Make America Great Again” slogan of President Donald Trump and his supporters.
Robinson said the graffiti was spotted on Aug. 17. It’s similar to what was seen along fences and common areas of the Kings Farm neighborhood, just around the corner from the Meadows home, during the weekend of Aug. 22-23.
Cobb Police said similar graffiti was seen on road signs in the same area, and was quickly removed by Cobb DOT crews.
Spray-paint graffiti in the Kings Farm neighborhood. Source: Atlanta Anti-Defamation League
Police also said they think the half-dozen incidents they’re investigating began on Aug. 16, but they’re not sure when all the others took place, nor do they have any leads.
Cobb Police Chief Tim Cox said at the same event on Monday that anyone who has any information about these incidents should contact Detective Abbott of the Precinct 4 Criminal Investigations Unit at 770-499-4184.
Also speaking at the Kol Emeth event was U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, a Democrat who defeated Handel in 2018. She told an interfaith audience at the synagogue:
“I am so grateful to leaders throughout our community who are standing tall in the face of violence and hatred. Together, we will continue to build a stronger, more inclusive community, and send a strong message to those who spread hate: there is no room for prejudice in our neighborhoods.”
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Cobb residents seeking weapons carry licenses will need to make appointments with the Probate Court at least through the end of September. Chief Judge Kelli Wolk said the decision came after consulting with public health officials who said continuing the appointments process would help slow the spread of the coronavirus. “The demand for these licenses is at an all-time high,” Judge Wolk said. “People tend to line up by the dozens to get into the office, and the space to do that is relatively small. The proximity of people in the courthouse put them, my staff and others who do business here in danger of spreading COVID-19.” Even with the appointment process, Judge Wolk says her office is processing weapons carry licenses at a record rate, completing more than 100 applications a day. Those who simply need to renew their licenses can do so by mail. Judge Wolk said using appointments also helps staff track visitors to their office in case an outbreak is reported. She will decide later this month whether they will continue taking appointments into October. To apply for an appointment and to get the latest information on the status of the Probate Court’s office, please visit cobbcounty.org/courts/probate-court/weapons-carry-permits
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Rabbi Larry Sernovitz of Temple Kol Emeth said “the strength of the community is how we respond” to recent incidents of anti-Semitic graffiti in East Cobb. (ECN photos and video)
A rash of anti-Semitic incidents in East Cobb in recent weeks has jarred an area with a sizable Jewish community.
In response, representatives of that Jewish community, along with other East Cobb faith leaders and local public officials, said Monday their message will be that such actions won’t be tolerated.
With the Southern Division of the Anti-Defamation League they announced the launching of an education campaign that will include bias training and a chance for the larger public to become allies with those unlike themselves.
The first of those sessions will take place virtually on Sept. 9 starting at 7:30 p.m. It’s free to attend but you must register and can do so by clicking here.
Most of all, their response is that love and understanding are the only ways to overcome hatred.
“I want to say ‘I love you,’ ” said Rabbi Larry Sernovitz of Temple Kol Emeth, one of three synagogues in East Cobb, and where Monday’s gathering was held.
Graffiti found in the Kings Farm neighborhood of East Cobb on Aug. 23. Source: ADL
“I don’t need to know you to love you.”
He said those who scrawled graffiti in East Cobb—there are at least a half-dozen known incidents since the middle of August—were educated that such expressions can be tolerated.
What’s needed again and again, Sernovitz said, is “a million acts of kindness,” and he referenced the Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, who “believed that redemption can save the world.”
The gathering was prompted by swastika and other graffiti discovered in a neighborhood near Post Oak Tritt Road and Holly Springs Road. Residents there cleaned the spray-paint quickly.
On Sunday, Sernovitz told his congregation that at least five more similar incidents are being investigated.
Cobb Police Chief Tim Cox, who attended Monday’s event at Kol Emeth, said the first incident took place on Aug. 16, and investigators are not sure if the other incidents happened at once or on separate dates.
Lt. Bruce Danz, an investigator with Cobb Police Precinct 4, said all the incidents were in East Cobb. They included anti-Semitic graffiti being spray-painted on road signs on Post Oak Tritt Road that was removed by Cobb DOT.
He said in two-and-a-half years in Precinct 4, this is the first time he’s known of such incidents.
Danz said that “right now, we don’t have any leads,” but that police are “actively investigating.”
Cox said that anyone in the public who may have information about these or similar incidents should contact Lt. Abbott of the Precinct 4 Criminal Investigations Unit at 770-499-4184.
East Cobb faith leaders have pledged to send a message of love to combat hatred and intolerance.
Several clergy members of the East Cobb faith communities were invited to speak, including Congregation Etz Chaim, Emerson Universalist Unitarian Congregation, Unity North Church East Cobb Church, the Church of Latter-Day Saints and the East Cobb Islamic Center.
Also speaking were U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, Cobb District Attorney Joyette Holmes and Commissioner Bob Ott of East Cobb.
Ott said Cobb County Manager Jackie McMorris will be presenting a measure in September to reconstitute the county’s dormant Human Relations Commission.
Those plans had been in the works before the anti-Semitic attacks, but Ott said the timing of these events makes it more imperative to build bridges of understanding in the community.
“This is not who we are,” Ott said. “This is not what we are about.”
The human relations panel was created in the early 1990s, after county commissioners approved a controversial anti-gay resolution.
Among those leading the outcry against the resolution was Steven Lebow, the longtime Kol Emeth rabbi who retired this summer.
Sernovitz started in July as Lebow’s successor, and calls one of his first public actions in his new role “a teachable moment.”
“This can happen anywhere,” he said. “The strength of our community is how we respond.”
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Swastika graffiti in an East Cobb neighborhood last weekend. Source: Anti-Defamation League
The leaders of the Temple Kol Emeth synagogue told their congregation Sunday that following the discovery of swastika graffiti in an East Cobb neighborhood last weekend, they’ve learned of other similar incidents.
Rabbi Larry Sernovitz and Rachel Barich, president of the congregation, said that “through our connections with local law enforcement, we are now aware of at least five similar incidents that have occurred over the past few weeks. This is a serious concern to us and to the Cobb County Police.”
They didn’t elaborate on the specifics of the incidents or when and where they took place, but said that “we know that the actions of a few do not represent East Cobb.”
Their message comes a day before Kol Emeth will be holding a gathering to announce a community response to acts of anti-Semitism.
That meeting will include representatives of the Anti-Defamation League of Atlanta, Atlanta Israeli Consul General Anat Sultan-Dadon, Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott and Capt. James Fincher, commander of the Cobb Police Precinct 4 in East Cobb.
The initiative is to include bias training and other educational programs:
“Through a partnership with the ADL, we will present to the wider East Cobb community a comprehensive program of education which will include bias training and how to be ally. Our fellow Jewish congregations and the interfaith community support this initiative with a high amount of interest. This is the spirit of Cobb County!”
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Monday’s gathering, which begins at 10 a.m., is not open to the general public. Sernovitz and Barich said an educational program to follow will be available to all via Zoom in the coming weeks.
“We also know that we cannot be silent, as silence does not make these things go away. Rather we are drawing on our friendships and ties with so many others in our community to provide a teachable moment, an opportunity for everyone to come together, speak together, and learn together.”
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Barbara Desmond, a resident of the Horizon condominium community off Powers Ferry Road, was taking a walk last Thursday morning when she heard what she said was an “awful distressed sound” of a crying kitten “way down in a sewer drain!”
While others discovered the kitten and called for help, she said she stayed on the scene near the entrance to the Hudson Ridge apartments on Windy Ridge Parkway and Parkwood Circle.
Cobb Fire and Emergency Services crews from Stations 3 and 4, as well as Cobb Animal Services, arrived to conduct a rescue operation that turned out more than successful.
The small black kitten not only was extracted safely, one of its rescuers adopted “Figaro,” who was obviously terrified but got plenty of comfort from the crews and later from her.
Barbara provided the photos and shot and narrated the videos.
She reports that the crews had to gain access to both points of the drain, around 60 feet apart, and that crew members fitted with oxygen suits and tanks came in either direction, and said “OMG it was so intense.”
She said “Many ANGELS on the scene helped with this very dangerous rescue!”
Here’s more from Barbara: “When I said thank you to the firefighters so much for all that you did to save the kitty, they all looked at me and the Chief said ‘It is our job to rescue all life.’ ”
She later gave Figaro some love before the kitten was adopted, and said she is “so proud to live in Cobb and this amazing team of First Responders! I am forever touched by this kitty rescue and wanted to share!”
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An EMS boat along the Chattahoochee River awaits an injured hiker who was escorted from the Gold Branch Unit trails Friday morning. Source: Cobb Fire & Emergency
Even if you’re trying to get away from the modern world with a hike deep into a nature trail, it helps to have modern technology.
That’s how Cobb Fire and Emergency Services crews were able to locate, rescue and treat a hiker who fell and injured an ankle Friday morning at the Gold Branch Unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.
The multi-agency response included Cobb Fire Station 21 in East Cobb, Cobb County Police Boat 4 and a Roswell Fire and EMS rescue boat.
Nick Danz, a paramedic with Cobb Fire, said the hiker was helped off the trails by rescue workers and escorted to a Metro Ambulance EMS boat along the Chattahoochee River and was triaged there with what he said were minor injuries.
He said the hiker called 911 from a cell phone, but was too far for rescue vehicles to reach, and could not walk back for treatment.
So Cobb Fire used what’s called “Rapid SOS” technology to get GPS (global positioning system) information from the cell phone.
That area of the Gold Branch Unit doesn’t have electronic markers, Danz said, as is the case with Cobb County parks, which have what’s called ELM (Electronic Locator Map) detectors.
Danz said when the hiker’s cell phone coordinates were determined, that information was relayed to a Cobb Fire battalion Chief, who dispatched crews from Station 21 and contacted the other agencies.
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When former Cobb Fire Chief was appointed interim Cobb Public Safety Director last August, one of his deputies, William Johnson, was named interim fire chief.
On Tuesday the Cobb Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to formally appoint Johnson to the position, which oversees fire and emergency services.
Johnson has been in Cobb for more than 26 years, according to his official biography, and started out at the rank of firefighter/paramedic.
He’s worked his way up as an engineer, lieutenant, captain and battalion chief, and in 2016, was appointed deputy chief of preparedness.
Johnson hold a bachelor’s degree from Columbia Southern University in fire science. He is a University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government EXCEL graduate.
Johnson also is part of the 2019 class of Leadership Cobb.
He’s lived in Cobb County all his live, graduating from McEachern High School, and still lives in West Cobb with his wife and two children.
Johnson is a founding committee member of the United Leadership Program and a lifetime Silver Member of the NAACP.
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A Cobb police officer is recovering after being shot in the head in a carjacking incident on Powers Ferry Road Thursday night in which the suspect also was killed, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The GBI said Friday morning that the incident began around 7:30 p.m. Thursday when Cobb Police were asked by Atlanta Police to check the parking lot of the Publix at 2900 Delk Road, at Powers Ferry Road, for a stolen vehicle.
When Cobb Police arrived, they were told by a citizen that his car had just been carjacked, got a description and found the vehicle nearby, according to the GBI.
When officers tried to stop the vehicle, the vehicle fled and police pursued, the GBI said.
Police learned that the suspect inside the vehicle had a rifle and as the pursuit reached Powers Ferry Road and Riverbend Club Drive, the suspect jumped out of the vehicle and shot several times at police, hitting a police car, the GBI said.
The GBI said the suspect then fled on foot along the Chattahoochee River with the rifle and was found near a dumpster in the Cumberland Chase townhome complex. The GBI said the suspect was given multiple commands by police and did not respond, and the man then fired his rifle at officers, hitting one of them in the head.
The GBI said police returned fire and shot the suspect, who died at the scene.
The suspect was identified as Martin Humberto Sanchez Fregoso, 37, of Smyrna. The GBI said the officer who was shot was treated and released from a hospital.
The GBI is continuing to investigate, as it does in officer-involved shootings.
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Cobb Sheriff’s Office records indicate that Colin William Outz, of an address in the Princeton Lakes subdivision, was booked in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on Wednesday afternoon and was released a few hours later on a $22,000 bond.
He’s facing one felony count of vehicular homicide and a misdemeanor count of reckless driving, according to jail records.
Outz was identified by Cobb Police as the driver of a Mercedes C300 that struck another Mercedes, at Johnson Ferry Road and Powers Drive around 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 22.
The other Mercedes, driven by Robert Higginbotham of East Cobb, was attempting to turn left onto Powers Drive when it was hit by Outz’ car, which police said was heading southbound on Johnson Ferry in excess of 90 mph.
The posted speed limit in that part of Johnson Ferry Road is 40 mph.
Police said Higginbotham, who lived near the crash scene on Green Point Way, was ejected from his car and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Outz was treated at WellStar Kennestone Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.
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Eli Lubell at a previous Black Lives Matter rally in East Cobb.
Eli Lubell has been attending a number of demonstrations, rallies and protests for the Black Lives Matter movement over the last couple of weeks.
On Friday, he’s hopeful a teen-organized protest he’s leading will be the biggest yet seen in East Cobb.
It starts at 1 p.m. at the corners of Roswell Road and Johnson Ferry Road, the site of ongoing rallies for the same purpose.
“I just wanted to create a sense of urgency and community,” said Eli, who’s 16 and attends Pope High School.
While similar rallies have drawn a few dozen people, his goal is to have a hundred or more people of all ages attend.
“It’s about visibility, about getting people in a conservative area to be more active and vocal,” Eli says.
Like many whites, Eli was prompted to action after seeing a video of a while Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, who was handcuffed on the ground and who later died.
That set off protests by Black Lives Matter and other groups around the country, as well as violence attributed largely to other elements.
“People in East Cobb aren’t always outspoken about their beliefs,” he says. “When something doesn’t affect them, they don’t think it’s their problem.”
But Eli said he learned that attending other rallies, especially in Decatur and Woodruff Park in Atlanta, how sheltered he had been from the realities faced by those in other racial and ethnic groups.
“Being a bystander is part of the problem,” he said, “but that’s starting to change.
“I don’t think I was aware. I hadn’t taken the time to educate myself.”
Eli drew some parallels to the Me Too movement, which struck a chord across the larger American society in the wake of sexual assaults and harassment by high-profile men.
He said he’s been hearing from other teens and promoting the rally via Instagram and other social media channels, but anyone of any age group is invited to attend.
Friday’s protest is expected to last two or three hours, he said, and a rally for Black Lives Matter is slated for 5-7 p.m. at the same Roswell-Johnson Ferry intersection that’s had daily protests.
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Director Kimberly McCoy (front) and Victim Advocate Adriene Grey assembling the kid kits.
Submitted information and photos:
Cobb District Attorney Joyette M. Holmes announces that her office is distributing 250 “kid kits” in a further effort to raise awareness of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. The event is usually marked each April but has been extended this year due to health concerns.
Earlier this year, the Cobb DA’s Office received $5,000 in funding from the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators (NAVAA) through a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), within the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, to promote community awareness of crime victims’ rights and services during the 2020 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.
Some of those funds were used to purchase items for the kid kits, which include a pencil pouch, coloring book, crayons, and hand sanitizer. The kits include contact information for the Victim Witness Unit of the Cobb DA’s Office.
The kid kits are being distributed through Cobb and Marietta City School districts, and at Cobb Fire Stations.
First designated by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, National Crime Victims’ Rights Week increases general public awareness of and knowledge about the wide range of rights and services available to people who have been victimized by crime. The 2020 theme is “Seek Justice, Ensure Victims’ Rights, and Inspire Hope.”
Since 2004, the NCVRW Community Awareness Project has provided financial and technical assistance to more than 977 community projects that promote victim and public awareness activities, and innovative approaches to victim outreach and public education about victims’ rights and services during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. Cobb’s was one of the 109 recommended by NAVAA and selected for funding by OVC for 2020 from the 262 applications that were submitted nationwide.
For additional information about 2020 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week activities or about victims’ rights and services in Cobb County, please contact the Victim Witness Unit in the DA’s Office at 770-528-3047 or visit our website at www.cobbda.com.
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Thanks to Matthew Poer for sending along photos from Saturday’s Black Lives Matter rally near Lassiter High School in East Cobb.
He estimated around 400 people lined up along Shallowford Road to bring attention to racism and police brutality in the wake of the death last week of George Floyd, a black man, in police custody in Minneapolis.
“I’ve been a law abiding and taxpaying resident of Cobb County and Marietta for eight years,” Matthew told us. “I’m a white man and I am sick of my friends, neighbors, coworkers and fellow Americans living in fear of systemic and individual discrimination.”
Saturday’s event at Lassiter was one of several rallies and protests to take place in East Cobb and around the county this week, as local elected officials and law enforcement agencies also responded to the issue.
All of the demonstrations thus far in Cobb County have been peaceful.
On Friday Cobb police officers retook their oaths promising to fight brutality and racism.
On Tuesday, Cobb commissioners will consider an anti-racism revolution similar to what passed in Smyrna and Acworth.
Many of the protests around the country also have been held in honor of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man shot to death while jogging near Brunswick, Ga., in February. Three white men have been charged with murder, and Cobb District Attorney Joyette Holmes has been appointed to prosecute the case.
Poer told us he also showed up Saturday in honor of Breonna Taylor, a black woman in Louisville, Ky., who was killed in March after police crashed into her apartment with a no-knock warrant related to a narcotics investigation.
Her boyfriend opened fire on officers, and Taylor was shot eight times during the exchange. Police did not find any drugs and no charges have been filed, but her family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
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The Cobb Police Department has released a video with officers and Chief Tim Cox reiterating previous statements the department has made condemning racism and police brutality.
Standing on the front steps of department headquarters in Marietta, a number officers also retook their oath of office.
Newly appointed Cobb Public Safety Director Randy Crider also spoke in the video, which is a little more than six minutes long.
Crider said the statements were not forced on the officers by any of their superiors, and Cox said the oath ceremony was even the idea of officers “to show the community the symbolism of how serious they are.”
In prepared remarks, Cox said he recently had a conversation with a pastor who told him that if one part of the body is hurting, then all the body is hurting.
“I think that’s what we’re experiencing in society,” Cox said. “All of society is hurting because one part is hurting.
“Our department will not stand for it, we will not tolerate it in any form,” Cox said, referring to racism and police brutality, “and we will not have it in the ranks of our department.”
On Tuesday, Cobb commissioners will consider a resolution to condemn racism in the county.
Thus far, several peaceful protests have taken place in Cobb to decry the death of George Floyd, a black man who was in Minneapolis police custody.
That incident sparked protests around the country that in many cases turned violent, including the city of Atlanta, which has had a curfew for nearly a week.
On Friday, an interfaith coalition of Atlanta clergy urged Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to “demilitarize” the law enforcement presence in the city, including removing Georgia National Guard troops ordered by Gov. Brian Kemp.
More protests are taking place over the weekend in Cobb County.
On Saturday, several Marietta churches are holding a “Prayer & Peaceful Protest Rally” at 10 a.m at Zion Baptist Church, 165 Lemon Street, near downtown Marietta.
A group called Cobb County BLM Resources said there will be a rally at 2 p.m. Saturday at Lassiter High School, near the Smoothie King.
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Cobb commissioners will be asked Tuesday to consider a resolution to condemn racism.
Commissioner Lisa Cupid, of South Cobb, and the only black member of the five-member board, admitted on Thursday when she posted the proposed resolution on her Facebook page (see below) that “I have been informed that some think this language is too strong, indicates something of the past, and is not reflective of how people feel today or in all districts of the county.”
“It is imperative that we have our citizens weigh in on this else I fear it could not pass or be worded in such a way that loses its intent and purpose.”
She urged citizens to contact their commissioner and let them know their thoughts.
Cupid said an online meeting she organized on Tuesday, entitled “Cobb Forum: Recent Deaths, Race and Response,” attracted more than 600 people, and she invited a number of elected and law enforcement officials and community leaders to participate.
Cupid, a Democrat who’s running for Cobb Commission Chairman, issued a follow-up message via her campaign e-mail Wednesday night highlighting the discussion, and suggested the following actions:
Be compassionate and mindful of others
Recognize the challenges some African Americans may have in just showing up, at work and in your organizations
Don’t back down from conversations about race and do not ostracize African Americans and others for discussing race and relating race to policy, practices, and outcomes
Have a conversation or lunch with someone who does not look like you
Reach out to local and state leaders to pass a resolution to support the Hate Crimes Bill
Reach out to leaders to pass a resolution denouncing racism or discrimination in your organizations, city and county
Support local nonprofit organizations and organizations that address issues of equity and race like the Cobb NAACP, Cobb SCLC, and the Georgia Community Coalition
Send an email or letter to school board members letting them know you support them addressing racial disparities in educational outcomes, teaching staff, and school resources
Support your African American leaders who are minorities in majority elected bodies
“I think we can only go up from here as I have heard from you and others that this was just a start,” Cupid said.
She is not the sponsor of the proposed resolution, which is listed on the agenda as being an item to be brought by board chairman Mike Boyce and is being presented for consideration by County Manager Jackie McMorris.
Tuesday’s commission meeting begins at 9 a.m. and will be available online only, but citizens are invited to participate in a public comment session via phone at the start of the meeting. You can sign up at this link.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
East Cobb resident Alice, at left, joins in asking motorists to honk their horns in support of Black Lives Matter. (ECN photos and videos)
At one of East Cobb’s busiest intersections, Alice I. found herself in an unusual situation. A local resident who’s a yoga instructor, she said she’s never gotten involved in politics or any kind of demonstration of any kind.
Until now.
She took part in a mostly-white rally of around 30 to 40 people Wednesday in front of Trader Joe’s.
A few dozen others were positioned at all quadrants of the intersection of Roswell Road and Johnson Ferry Road, asking motorists to honk their horns in support of Black Lives Matter.
A good number of them did.
“I’m doing this because I stand with black people,” said Alice, who declined to give her last name.
Black Lives Matter is the activist group that has staged protests around the country after the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police last week.
BLM started several years ago and grew around similar deaths, but the Floyd case has caused sustained shock waves around the country.
The officer seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes has been charged with murder, and three other officers on the scene also have been charged. They were immediately terminated.
But peaceful protests designed to draw attention to police brutality quickly turned violent in Minneapolis, Atlanta and other cities. Many of those incidents are being blamed on outside groups having nothing to do with the initial protestors.
Alice said she abhorred the video she saw of Floyd, who was face-down on the ground and handcuffed in the moments before his death.
“This is about white people no longer being silent,” Alice said. “We have to stand up and say, ‘Enough is enough,’ that we’re coming from a place of love.”
There have been several protests in Cobb County over the weekend and into the week and expanding into East Cobb.
Alice said she heard from neighbors about Wednesday’s rally and decided to attend. She was also upset that some have confused peaceful protests with looting, burning and property destruction that have prompted arrests and curfews in a number of cities, including Atlanta.
“Everyone’s here wearing a smile, just showing support” for black citizens,” she said, and was hopeful that “African-Americans [will] see how much white people are supporting them.”
Some of the participants Wednesday shouted chants that have been heard frequently at other protests.
“Say his name!” they shouted.
“George Floyd!”
Rallies are scheduled for the same intersection the rest of this week from 5-7 p.m.
Other rallies are taking place from 2-4 p.m. at the intersection of Canton Road and Jamerson Road, and from 7-9 p.m. at the intersection of Sandy Plains Road and East Piedmont Road.
On Saturday morning, several Marietta churches are holding a “Prayer & Peaceful Protest Rally” at 10 a.m at Zion Baptist Church, 165 Lemon Street, near downtown Marietta.
A group called Cobb County BLM Resources said there will be a rally at 2 p.m. Saturday at Lassiter High School, near the Smoothie King.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
