East Cobb Public Safety

UPDATED: Motorist dies after East Cobb accident, confrontation with police involving Taser

by
Roswell Road at North Marietta Parkway, East Cobb traffic
Cobb DOT photo of Roswell Road at South Marietta Parkway shortly before the ramp reopened early Friday morning.

UPDATED, 2:25 P.M.: The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said what turned out to be a deadly confrontation between a motorist and Cobb Police early Friday morning at a traffic accident scene in East Cobb involved the use of a Taser.

According to a GBI statement issued shortly after 2 p.m. today, the male driver of a white Dodge Caravan, which was heading westbound on Roswell Road, passed a marked Cobb Police car at an excessively high rate of speed.

Police tried to stop the Dodge Caravan, then pursued his vehicle, which then slammed into another car on the ramp to the South Marietta Parkway. The GBI said the driver of the Dodge Caravan “became combative and fought with officers” who had arrived at the accident scene. During the confrontation, one officer utilized his Taser, according to the GBI, and “the subject became unresponsive. He was transported to the hospital where he died.”

According to the GBI statement, the Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting an autopsy on the deceased man, whose identity has not been disclosed.

The GBI said several officers received minor injuries during the struggle but did not require medical attention. The driver of the other vehicle involved in the accident was hospitalized with minor injuries, according to the GBI.

The GBI continues to investigate the post-crash incident, while the Georgia State Patrol probes the accident. The GBI will turn over its findings to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.

ORIGINAL REPORT, POSTED 1:32 P.M.: Cobb Police said one person died early Friday following a collision involving two cars on the ramp connecting Roswell Road and the South Marietta Parkway in East Cobb.

The accident happened at 12:46 a.m., according to police, and the ramp was closed until around 7:30 a.m.

According to a statement from Cobb Police, the male driver of a white Dodge Caravan traveling westbound on Roswell Road passed a Cobb Police officer in a marked patrol car at a high rate of speed.

When the driver entered the ramp to South Marietta Parkway, the Dodge Caravan hit another vehicle in the curve, police said.

When they arrived at the accident scene, officers from Cobb Precinct 4 struggled with the Dodge Caravan driver, who was arrested and later transported to a hospital, where he died, according to the Cobb Police statement.

Cobb Police have not identified the man who died.

The accident remains under investigation and is being conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia State Patrol.

EAST COBB TRAFFIC ALERT: Accident causing delays on Johnson Ferry Road at Woodlawn Drive

by
Johson Ferry Road at Woodlawn Drive, East Cobb traffic and roads
Cobb DOT photo of Johnson Ferry Road looking southbound at the Woodlawn Drive intersection. Northbound lanes also are backed up. 

UPDATED, 1:35 P.M.: Cobb DOT reports that all northbound and southbound lanes of Johnson Ferry Road have reopened to traffic.

ORIGINAL REPORT: At around 12:45 p.m. Friday, Cobb DOT reported that an accident in the southbound lanes of Johnson Ferry Road and Woodlawn Drive is causing major traffic delays.

The delays are being experienced in both the southbound and northbound directions on Johnson Ferry Road.

Updates to follow.

 

East Cobb assisted living center worker charged in death of 91-year-old resident

by

Sunrise at East Cobb

An employee at the Sunrise at East Cobb assisted living facility has been charged with murder after a 91-year-old resident there died on Friday.

Landon Terrel, of Powder Springs, has been charged with felony murder, aggravated battery of a person age 65 or older and neglect of a senior care resident. According to Cobb Sheriff’s Office records, he was arrested late Wednesday.

Cobb Police said Adam Bennett, 91, died on Friday at WellStar Kennestone Hospital where he was taken Tuesday via ambulance due to injuries suffered at the facility. Sunrise at East Cobb is located at 1551 Johnson Ferry Road, just north of Roswell Road.

Cobb Police said detectives concluded Bennett had been assaulted at the assisted living facility by someone on staff. (Here’s the information police have released.)

According to a Fox 5 report, the victim suffered broken ribs, a lacerated kidney, and a punctured lung.

Accident closes Roswell Road between Timber Ridge and Bishop Lake roads

by
A Cobb Police cruiser prevents westbound traffic onto Roswell Road from Bishop Lake Road so power crews could make repairs. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)

Cobb Police shut down a short stretch of Roswell Road east of Johnson Ferry Road Tuesday afternoon due to an accident, but it caused plenty of traffic headaches.

A dump truck struck a power pole and traffic in both directions was shut down between Timber Ridge Road and Bishop Lake Drive for a couple of hours.

The shutdown took place approximately between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., with major backups on Timber Ridge and Bishop Lake during that period, with some after-school bus and related traffic also affected.

Shortly before Roswell was re-opened, the Catholic Church of St. Ann—located at the Roswell-Bishop Lake intersection—sent out a notice on its Facebook page for parishioners to build in more time for tonight’s 7 p.m. Feast of the Assumption mass.

Power crews were still working on the side of the road once Roswell was re-opened to traffic.

 

Bells Ferry ES helps launch new Cobb school emergency alert system

by

Bells Ferry Elementary School

The Cobb County School District this week announced the implementation of a new emergency alert system, and East Cobb’s Bells Ferry Elementary School is one of the schools serving as a testing ground for the service.

Cobb Board of Education members and the public were briefed about the new system at a work session on Wednesday. The other school that is a “proof of concept” location during the current school year is Kennesaw Mountain High School.

The new emergency system, known as AlertPoint, allows each employee within a school—including administrators, teachers and other staffers—to activate a device should an emergency occur. This includes fires, active shooters and other intruders, physical altercations and medical emergencies.

When an AlertPoint device is activated, alert information is relayed via computer and mobile devices to school-level administrators and security personnel, as well as at the school district office, within seconds.

The location and identity of the person sending the alert also is transmitted. When a “Code Red” alert is triggered, flashing lights, beeping sounds and voice messages ring out, and the intercom system indicates a lockdown situation is underway.

The AlertPoint system is patterned after existing school fire emergency procedures.

Cobb is the first school district in Georgia to use the AlertPoint system, according to Superintendent Chris Ragsdale.

“Columbine [the deadly 1999 Colorado high school shootings] changed how we do school security,” he said.

Phil Bradford, a Cobb school police officer, said the biggest security concerns remain at high schools, since elementary and middle schools have more controlled access.

“This is a capability we’ve never had before, particularly in the high schools,” he said. “If one of the staff members sees something that is that threatening, within in a matter of seconds, the entire building can know what to do.”

Ragsdale said the school district is “starting with the rollout” of AlertPoint in other schools, but for security reasons he would not identify them.

Three Delk Road businesses pass alcohol compliance checks

by

According to Cobb Police, two businesses in the Delk Spectrum Shopping Center (2900 Delk Road, at Powers Ferry Road) and another nearby on Delk Road were part of an alcohol compliance check last Thursday, July 27.

All three of them passed the check—meaning they didn’t sell alcohol to an underage volunteer.

They were the Bowlero Lanes at 2749 Delk Road, and the Publix store and the Willy’s Mexicana Grill at Delk Spectrum.

The police compliance check also included several businesses in the Atlanta Road area, and three of them failed.

The checks are conducted by the Cobb Police Department’s Regulatory Services/Permits Unit.

Cobb to test outdoor warning sirens at noon Wednesday

by

If you hear sirens around noon today, this is the reason. Issued by Cobb County government:

Cobb County has more than 70 outdoor warning sirens to alert residents during a weather-related emergency, including ten sirens that can also broadcast voice messages.

The intent of warning sirens is to alert people who are outside that an imminent danger is approaching; they are not designed to be heard within a home or other building.

Cobb County conducts outdoor warning siren system tests at noon on the first Wednesday of each month, sounding the sirens for 3 to 5 minutes. In the event that there is inclement weather on the first Wednesday of the month, the test will be postponed until the following day, the first Thursday of the month.

More here.