The News, Jan. 10, 2015 V6, I41

the NEWS

Jan. 10, 2015

Volume 6, Issue 41

Standing in solidarity Page 5

$1

Serving Rockdale County and Conyers

rockdalenews.com

LIFE ON CAMERA an ongoing series

The first part of an occasional series examining how our private and public lives are affected by the constant presence of cameras, recording devices, social media and more

All-area

Meet the 2014 Rockdale County all-area team

Page 13 Veteran’s Story Targeting the Big Apple

Page 8 State

of the city

New city hall, strategic plan in works

Page 3 Like us at facebook.com/ rockdalenews Follow us @rockdalenews

BODY CAMERAS & THE FUTURE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT

WILL IT HELP? READ THE FULL STORY ON PAGE 10

The News

2 • Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015

What’s Trending

Grow House Busted

MOST-VIEWED STORIES

rockdalenews.com

1 2 3

Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office deputies busted a $1 million marijuana grow operation in south Rockdale County New Year’s Eve thanks to a neighborhood tip. Investigators received the tip in December, began looking into the Elizabeth Court house and served a search warrant on December 31, 2014.

The basement was divided into multiple rooms where marijuana was actively being or had previously been cultivated. In total, 85 marijuana plants were seized.

Between the equipment and marijuana plants, investigators estimated the marijuana grow to be a $1 million operation.

The suspect, Randy Le, was arrested Jan. 5 at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport attempting to board an international flight. Le, 48 of Conyers, faces a charge of Trafficking Marijuana.

JAN. 3-9

Three suspects arrested in murder of Conyers man Georgia State, Georiga Perimeter merger approved Deputies bust marijuana grow house New Year’s Eve

Meeting Place

Rockdale Parks and Recreation Commission meeting Mon. Jan. 12, Johnson Park, 1781 Ebenezer Rd Keep Conyers-Rockdale Beautiful meeting Tues. Jan. 13, 6 p.m. Nancy Guinn Library, 864 Green St Rockdale Board of Commissioners meeting, Tues., Jan. 13, 10 a.m., 901 Main St. Board of Education meeting, Thurs., Jan. 15, 7 p.m., 954 N. Main St.

Clarification Rockdale County’s historical court records were recorded on microfilm by the administration of previous Clerk of Courts Joanne Caldwell and and previous administrations and stored at the Georgia Archives. The current administration of Clerk of Courts Ruth Wilson is working on a project to scan and digitize the historical court records and create a climate-controlled storage space for the physical records.

the

NEWS

1009 Milstead Ave., Ste 200, Conyers, 30012 Office 770-787-6397 , FAX 678-253-5988 Tips: 770-728-1437, news@ rockdalenews.com / Circulation 770-728-1414 / Advertising/ Sales 770-728-1436 Subscribe to The News for home delivery: $32 a year Call 770-728-1418 or subscribe online at rockdalenews.com

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CRIME

Three suspects arrested inConyers murder

By Martin Rand, III

mrand@rockdalenews.com

Conyers Police have arrested three Conyers residents for their connection to the killing of a Conyers man, who was fatally shot in his apartment Tuesday, Dec. 30.

Paul Greene, 28, Joey Jackson II, 18, and Martria Hunley, 17, are being charged with felony murder in the shooting death of 24-yearold Jarvis Hughey.

Kim Lucas, spokesperson for the Conyers Police, says there’s enough physical evidence to put at least one of the suspects in Hughey’s Meadow Crossing apartment, 1190 Mill Crest Walk, in Conyers at the time of the shooting, and there’s also evidence that puts all three together during the same time frame.

While there weren’t any drugs discovered at Hughey’s apartment, police are classifying the incident as a drug-related robbery, says Lucas.

Police don’t have evidence to assume that the three took any drugs from the apartment either.

“That was their intent,” said Lucas. “I guess they assumed there would be something there but there was not.”

Lucas says that the official word on what led to Hughey being shot won’t be disclosed until court proceedings.

According to the autopsy, Hughey was shot twice in the head from two different handguns, a semi-automatic and a revolver, killing him instantly.

Police are still waiting on the coroner’s report.

Around 9 p.m. Friday night, Jackson was arrested after police found marijuana in his posses-

sion when they brought him in to ask him questions related to the Hughey case. Including the murder charge, Jackson is also being charged with two counts of aggravated assault, possession of marijuana, cruelty to children and theft by receiving stolen property.

Green and Hunley were arrested a few hours later in their apartment, 1179 Oak villa Court, Conyers, at 11:19 p.m. and 1:30 a.m., Saturday morning. Their apartment is located across the street from Hughey’s apartment complex.

Greene is being charged with two counts of possession or transfer of a firearm, aggravated assault, felony murder, murder and cruelty to children. Hunley is being charged with felony murder and murder.

All three suspects are in Rockdale County Jail.

Greene and Jackson work together. Jackson and Hunley are dating each other. All three had an association to Hughey, said Lucas.

Unlucky crook breaks into off-duty cop’s home

A man who was attempting to break into a Covington home on New Year’s Day was surprised when the off duty state police officer who lived there opened the door and took him into custody at gunpoint.

Officer Harold Tisdale Jr. of was at home when the suspect, Kevin Edward Greer, rang his doorbell repeatedly before trying to force entry.

Tisdale opened his door to

confront Greer, directing him to lie on the ground as he dialed 911. When officers arrived on the scene, the subdued suspect

claimed he had been looking for his girlfriend who lived in the same subdivision.

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The News

Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015 • 3

State of the city

By Martin Rand III

mrand@rockdalenews.com

Designs for a new City Hall and creation of a strategic plan are big items on the City of Conyers’ agenda this year, said Mayor Randy Mills and councilmen at the annual “State of the City” event Jan. 7 at Cherokee Run Golf Club.

Mills told the crowd of hundreds that city leaders think of themselves as building upon the foundation of a great community. Extending that metaphor, he said the city will spend the coming year “surveying, staking and leveling.” That means surveying the opinion of community stakeholders on how to improve Conyers.

“We want you to - pardon the pun - level with us,” Mills said.

The city’s first-ever strategic plan-a document detailing the

city’s vision for future development and programming-is a major part of that. City officials are already working with consultants internally on the strategic plan. This year, there will be a public input phase, including focus groups, town hall meetings and a survey, Mills said.

The survey will seek information on “what we have, what we need more of, and most importantly, what we can do better,” the mayor said.

The strategic plan’s consultant has been using the terms “been-heres” for longtime residents and “come-heres” for newcomers, Mills said, adding, “I like to think there’s a happy medium between the ‘been-heres’ and ‘come-heres’” that Conyers can build on.

City leaders are also interested in actual construction, not just metaphors. Councilman John

Fountain displayed some early sketches of a bigger, better City Hall. The city will seek an architect in the coming year to create a final design, he said.

An improved City Hall is a longtime wish-list item for city leaders, as the existing Scott Street complex is packed full.

Last year, officials were exploring a site on Oakland Avenue for the new City Hall, and considering a mix of public and private development. But, Fountain said, the site and funding sources are yet to be determined.

Councilman Cleveland Stroud reported that serious crimes in Conyers are down in every category since 2013, with the overall serious-crime rate dropping by 14.7 percent.

Conyers appeared in the New York Times this year as

See more CITY on PAGE 15

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The News

4 • Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015

School board members sworn in

Submitted photo/The News

(Top) Katrina McCollum Young was joined by her husband Simeon and daughter Sharnel as she was sworn in by Rockdale Superior Court Judge Robert Mumford for her third term on the Rockdale County Board of Education on Thursday night.

(Bottom) Jim McBrayer was joined by his wife Betty as he was sworn in Thursday by Judge Mumford for his second term to the school board.

After a tense and brief discussion at the school board worksession, McBrayer was appointed again as chairman in a 5-0 vote; Young and Sharon Pharr abstained. McBrayer nominated Wales Barksdale to be vice-chair, which passed 5-0. Young said before the vote, “Sometimes we have conversations about who is the next chair or vice chair. I haven’t been included in those conversations. I felt excluded, and that’s not a good feeling.

We’re supposed to be a leadership team. I wanted to raise that.”

Parenting Empowerment workshop Jan. 10

In an effort to empower parents and help keep children out of trouble and out of the prison pipeline, the Rockdale-Newton Section of the National Council of Negro Women, Inc. wil host a community discussion designed to bring parents and or guardians together with a host of experts on Saturday, Jan. 10, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., at Antioch AME Church, 1790 Ebenezer Road, Conyers (across from Johnson Park). At the workshop, titled “Uniting the Community and Saving Our Children,” attendees will have the opportunity to speak directly with panelists including Rockdale County School Superintendent Rich Autry; Rockdale County Sheriff Eric Levett; City of Conyers Police Department Sgt. Peggy Franklin; Rockdale County Magistrate Court Chief Magistrate Judge Phinia Aten; Rockdale County Juvenile Court Judge William Schneider; Criminal Law Attorney Gary Washington and Education Advocate (SNAP) Anthony Ivory. “Our organization is primarily aiming to equip those raising youth in our local communities with information they need yet avoid another unnecessary end to a valuable life” as seen in recent police-related deaths of young black men in Ferguson and New York and beyond, said Rhonda Taylor, president of the Rockdale-Newton NCNW For more information, 678-824-2946 or Rockdalenewtonncnw@ gmail.com.

August start date 2015-16 school calendar recommended

Rockdale County Public Schools is recommending a 2015-16 calendar that starts the school year for students on Aug. 3 and ends May 27, 2016.

That was the option with the most votes, 72 percent, on an online survey with 481 responses. The school board votes Jan. 15, 7 p.m. on the calendar.

For more, go to www.rockdalenews.com

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Opinion the

Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015 RockdaleNews.com/opinion Page 5

NEWS

PUBLISHER T. Pat Cavanaugh

pcavanaugh@rockdalenews.com

DESIGN EDITOR Sabastian Wee

mkim@rockdalenews.com

SALES DIRECTOR Annette Godwin

swee@rockdalenews.com

agodwin@rockdalenews.com

CIRCULATION DIR. Amanda Ellington

COMPTROLLER Debbie Thompson

aellington@covnews.com

HAVE YOUR SAY

EDITOR Michelle Kim

We welcome letters to the editor. Letters must be 350 words or less. They should be limited to issues of public interest and may be edited for content, grammar, spelling and length.

• Mail: Editor, The News, 1009 Milstead Ave., Suite 200, Conyers, GA 30012 • Email: news@ rockdalenews.com

dthompson@covnews.com

Our Thoughts Shocking

Last week we were shocked by the violent attack on the office of a French satirical newspaper called Charlie Hebdo.

Twelve innocent people were killed ruthlessly by Islamic Terrorist animals.

We mourn their loss and we admire their courage.

We wish that our own President and the publishers of the so-called mainstream media had half as much courage.

We don’t believe that the Muslim community interprets their religion as many of these terrorists do; it’s high time that the majority of Muslims who say they believe in peace stand up and condemn these groups and also the persecution of Christians in Muslim countries.

In our own country we have had groups as bad as the Islamic terriorists.

The KKK in the name of Christianity murdered and terrorized people in the most brutal of ways. They brought fear throughout the land for over 100 years until finally they were brought under control, in part by real Christians.

We should expect nothing less from the Muslim leadership in this country and throughout the world.

We pray that the folks who worked for Charlie Hebdo did not die in vain.

Free speech and a free press are essential for the survival of all of our freedoms, not only here but around the world.

We also pray that the President of the United States finally gets the message that you cannot continue to pacify crazed fanatics who are hell bent on destroying our way of life.

You might wonder if or how all of this affects a small community newspaper like ours. Although we are not threatened with death, we are threatened on a regular basis by intolerant folks who don’t want stories run or their name mentioned. We will never be bullied by such tactics, nor can we be forced to go away by such tactics. A community needs a strong and honest newspaper. We promise you that we will continue to work on being that newspaper every day.

God bless the martyrs of Charlie Hebdo.

Your Thoughts Your

reaction online to “Georgia State University and Gerogia Perimeter College to merge.”

Graham Denio: GSU has substantially higher tuition and fees than GPC. GPC is traditionally known as an acess institution with lower barriers of entry for HS dual enrollment and first generation college attendees. If they consolodate, I’m certain that the fees and tuition won’t be lower and I don’t see GSU carrying the access institution torch. I am sad to see GPC merge into GSU. I feel that each have their place and mission that serves a purpose for Georgia’s students.

Carol Moore: GPC is a good school. Hoping this is a good thing:) Lee Merritt: I think GPC sucks, and most of their students don’t graduate. Hopefully this will be a good change. Speaking from experience.

Nathan Banks: They have been talking about this since 2007. Still can’t reach a deal.

Anna Young (GSU student): As a student, I’m curious as to what this might mean for students who want to pursue a two-year degree at a traditional community college because it is more affordable than attending a university.

Higher tuition may mean less opportunity for students who can’t afford it, and that doesn’t sit well with me.

As a student leader, I

know some concerns with organizations is the lack of communication among all organizations on campus. If we expand to campuses outside of downtown Atlanta, I feel like the communication gap would just grow larger. I do believe there will be great opportunities that could come out of this in the long term too, but the growing communication gap worries me.

Also, will some students and faculty have to relocate? Perimeter College is all over the place and transportation infrastructure isn’t exactly world class here.

Farhin Lilywala (GPC student): I feel the merger could be a good thing. Resources will be combined, and both parties could benefit from the merger.

However, I am interested in seeing how tuition Mike Eden (GSU and management are and GPC graduate): affected by the situation.

My biggest concern is Will GPC become a tuition fees for Perimeter two-year part of Georgia students. Many students State? Or will each go to Perimeter before campus of GPC just transferring to save become an external money if they can. That part of GSU? I hope that may no longer be an students and faculty option if the proposal will receive an ample is approved. And like amount of attention. A any company that major concern would merges with another, be that GSU would employees may be laid swallow GPC, causing off. Faculty members more students and at both colleges could faculty to have to deal lose their jobs. Hope to with more bureaucratic see the proposal soon! procedures.

The News News The

6 •• Saturday, Saturday, Jan. Jan. 10, 10, 2015 2015 6

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Submitted photo/The News Submitted photo/The News

RCPS computers to Phoenix Pass RAV donates gives $11,000 to Project ReNeWal The season for giving continued on New Year’s Eve for Project Renewal when Judge Nancy Bills gave a check for $11,000 from proceeds of the 2014 Race Against Violence. Vickie Stevenson, Executive Director from Project Renewal, expressed gratitude.

The funds will help fill gaps of services offered to victims of family violence throughout Rockdale, Newton and Walton counties. Judge Bills, who serves as the Rockdale County State Court Judge and Chair of the Rockdale County Task Force Against Family Violence thanked the more than 300 RAV photo/The News registrants, Submitted 50-plus sponsors and approximately 60 volunteers. The 6th AnRockdale County Public Schools recently donated eight refurbished computers to nual Phoenix transitional housing RAV,Pass, also the a Peachtree Roadrace program for homeless women with children, to their computer lab. The computersqualifier, were installed are ready for use. will be and October 24, 2015 beThe RCPS School Food Services Department also adopted all eight families at Phoenix Pass for Christmas and collected fore the Olde Town Fall Fest. For more, and donated gifts and supplies to the families and children, who are attendees of Rockdale County Public Schools. go to rockdaleaware.com or contact Submitted photo/The News

Derek Marchman at 678-938-5799.

RAV donates gives $11,000 to Project ReNeWal RCPS computers to Phoenix Pass The season for giving continued on New Year’s Eve for Project Renewal when Judge Nancy Bills gave a check for $11,000 from proceeds of the 2014 Race Against Violence. Vickie Stevenson, Executive Director from Project Renewal, expressed gratitude.

The funds will help fill gaps of services offered to victims of family violence throughout Rockdale, Newton and Walton counties. Judge Bills, who serves as the Rockdale County State Court Judge and Chair of the Rockdale County Task Force Against Family Violence thanked the more than 300 RAV registrants, Submitted 50-plus sponsors and apphoto/The News proximately 60 volunteers. The 6th AnRAV,Pass, alsothe a Peachtree Rockdale County Public Schools recently donated eight refurbished computers to nual Phoenix transitionalRoadrace housing will be and October 24, 2015 beprogram for homeless women with children, to their computer lab. The computersqualifier, were installed are ready for use. fore the Olde Fall Fest. more, The RCPS School Food Services Department also adopted all eight families at Phoenix Pass for Town Christmas andFor collected go to rockdaleaware.com or contact and donated gifts and supplies to the families and children, who are attendees of Rockdale County Public Schools.

Submitted photo/The News Derek Marchman at 678-938-5799.

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The private school education provides a safer “hallway” experience. By this, I mean the types of attitudes and opinions learned throughout the day from their

peers. We realized that in reality, in a normal school day, our children are being influenced by other’s values more than our own. The private school environment provides a more constant value system. And when there are issues, the school can work through the heart of the child, versus a zero tolerance mandate.

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The News

8 • Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015

Targeting the

A

ccording to legend, in the year 1307 the bailiff/agent of the Hapsburg Duke of Austria placed a Hapsburg hat on a pole in the town square of the small village of Altdorf, Switzerland. Once the hat was in position, he demanded anyone walking by to uncover their hats before it. As a local hunter/farmer and his son passed by, the older man refused to obey the decree.

According to legend, in the year 1307 the bailiff/ agent of the Hapsburg Duke of Austria placed a Hapsburg PETE MECCA hat on a COLUMNIST pole in the town square of the small village of Altdorf, Switzerland. Once the hat was in position, he demanded anyone walking by to uncover their hats before it. As a local hunter/farmer and his son passed by, the older man refused to obey the decree.

Infuriated, the Hapsburg representative ordered an apple placed on the son’s head and told the hunter, William Tell, to mark off 120 paces then shoot the arrow off his son’s head. If William failed, he and his progeny would be executed. William marked off 120 paces, loaded and aimed his crossbow, and let loose the arrow. A perfect hit, the apple fell.

“Your life has been spared,” the bailiff said. “But why did you place a second arrow in your jacket?”

William Tell replied, “If my first arrow had killed my son, I would have shot the second at you, and I would not have missed.”

As folklore asserts, the apple

BIG APPLE

was really an easy target for William Tell because he never missed. Fortunately, William never targeted the real Big Apple: New York City.

In the eyes of friends and foe alike, The Big Apple epitomizes the United States of America, more so than Washington, DC. The city is a genuine melting pot, a multinational potpourri of race, creed, color, Libertarians and Liberals, Communists and Conservatives. New York City is who and what we are. Thus, the reason for 9/11. Its importance as a target has never been lost on our enemies.

Adolf Hitler was 8 years old in 1897, the same year the German military first seriously considered the United States as a potential target. Future wars and war planning would heighten that interest. In 1903, German Vice Admiral Wilhelm Bushsel alleged, “A landing on and occupation of Long Island with a resulting threat to New York from the western end of this island seems feasible.”

During the late 1890s through the early 1910s, the finishing touches on a ‘surprise attack’ called for: Two sizeable naval units blocking access to the harbor, one at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, the second in New York’s lower bay.

A battalion of engineers and several battalions of infantry would land on Long Island, assemble, and attack Manhattan

the next day.

During the ‘Roaring 20s’ an aspiring young German naval officer studied these plans for an invasion of New York.

The ambitious officer was Karl Donitz, the commander of Hitler’s U-boat fleet and, after Hitler, the last Fuhrer of the Third Reich. In 1901, German Kaiser Wilhelm advocated an invasion of Cuba so bases could be established for a future invasion of the United States.

Along comes World War Two. A strike against New York, similar to the American raid on Tokyo by Jimmy Doolittle, became an obsession with Hitler

and German military planners.

Damage was not the actual goal, but, like Doolittle’s raid, a psychological shot in the arm for the German people while spreading ‘terror’ among the American populace. The idea that additional money and time would be spent by America to upgrade their coastal defenses was not lost on the Nazis.

A long-range attack across the Atlantic Ocean certainly presented large, but not insurmountable, problems. Stratagems hit the drawing boards, new aircraft called the ‘America Bomber’ were designed and built, and desiring a piece of

the action, the Italians jumped into the planning for a strike against New York. In truth, the Italians had the best means and experience to actually pull off an attack.

First, the Germans. The ‘America Bomber’ favored by most in the Nazi hierarchy was Willy Messerschmitt’s Me-264.

Initially flown on Dec 23, 1942, the lustrous four engine bomber was approved for the long-range mission after necessary improvements were made on engine upgrades, armaments, and midair refueling

See VETERANS page 9

The News

VETERANS From PAGE 8

capability. The wingspan was slightly over 141 feet, about the same as an American B-29, and over 30 feet longer than a B-24. Luckily, on June 18, 1944, Allied bombs destroyed the prototype and two other partially completed Me-264s.

The Junkers Company built an enormous aircraft, the Ju390. First test flown on Oct 20, 1943, its wingspan was 40 feet wider than a B-29 and the fuselage 11 feet longer. The Ju390 was powered by six 1,700 BMW engines and supposedly made a test run to the east coast of the United States. Two were built, both destroyed by Allied bombs or blown up by retreating Germans.

Ernst Heinkel’s company built the He-277. First flown in Dec of ’43, the company built at least 8 ‘America Bombers’ before production halted in favor of fighter protection against Allied bombing. All 8 bombers were lost to Allied bombing.

Focke-Wulf’s brainchild was the Ta-400. Its fighter aircraft, the Fw-109 and Fw-190, were legendary. The Ta-400 never flew, but had Germany spent the time and resources to take the Focke-Wulf design beyond the wind tunnel model, the American east coast would have fallen victim to its 22,000 pound payload. Powered by six big BMW radial engines, with the design later altered with two Jumo 004 jet engines, this beautifully designed plane would have wreaked havoc on American cities.

Had the war continued, no doubt Wernher von Braun and his scientists could have easily targeted New York with their highly successful rocket program. The slower V-1 and supersonic V-2 had rained destruction on European cities near the end of WWII. Plans were in the works for the A-9 and A-10, rockets with extended range, including two or three stage capabilities. After the war, von Braun admitted to American interrogators that studies had been conducted for construction of the A-11, a booster rocket attached to an A-9/A-10 combination that, due to its orbital capabilities, could hit any target on earth.

A plan for German submarines to ‘haul’, actually ‘tow’, V-2 supersonic missiles enclosed inside a launcher for use against New York City came very close to reality. The predecessor for submarine launched ballistic missiles, one ‘canister’, as they were identified, was

Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015 • 9 completed and two more near completion when the Soviets overran the project complex in Stettin in early 1945. The ‘canisters’ and everything else at the complex were sent back to the Soviet Union.

German engineering was no doubt good enough to hit New York City or other east coast targets in the United States, if for nothing more than a morale booster for the German masses, but Hitler’s priorities bounced around like a rubber ball near the end of the war. Perhaps we should all be grateful Hitler was a candidate for a rubber-padded cell as well.

Now, the Italians. My grandparents came over on a boat from Italy to start a new life as patriotic, hard-working American citizens. Albeit, a few folks of Italian lineage during WWII had plans to ride pigs into the Big Apple.

A “Pig” was a remarkably successful weapon used by the Italian Navy’s assault teams, the most famous being the Tenth Light Flotilla. The men of the Tenth were responsible for sinking or severely damaging 31 ships for an aggregate loss of 265,000 tons. These warriors

used speedboats, miniature subs, and manned torpedoes.

The Tenth called their manned torpedoes “Pigs.” Twenty two feet long and 21 inches in diameter, two men sat astride the weapon with their feet in stirrups to guide the torpedo to the preselected target, attach a 661 lb. explosive device with timer, then hopefully slip away.

On Dec 18, 1941, the Italian submarine Scire released 3 “Pigs” near the entrance to Alexandria harbor. Evading 3 British destroyers, the “Pigs” sank two British battleships, a fully loaded tanker, severely damaged a destroyer, and lived to tell the tale as POWs. Bigger and better plans were drawn up, including an attack in New York Harbor. Carried to outside the harbor by four engine Cant Z.511 float planes, four “Pigs” would be released, the men would pick their targets in New York Harbor, then return to a designated pickup point. The plan did not have enough time to materialize.

However, a strike by Italian miniature subs was given approval. Limited in range, Italian submarine ‘mother ships’ would transport mini subs to

within range of New York Harbor. The mini sub crews spent over a year in training for the New York mission. Once inside the harbor, each sub would release two torpedoes and a wide assortment of limpet mines.

The strike date was set: December of 1943. The strike was canceled in September, 3 months short of the attack date, after the Italians signed an Armistice with Allied forces. The men of the Tenth were heart-

sick. These men believed in their mission, and most military historians agree the Tenth would most likely have succeeded.

The Big Apple was spared.

William Tell would have been disappointed.

Pete Mecca is a Vietnam veteran, columnist and freelance writer. You can reach him at aveteransstory@gmail.com or aveteransstory.us.

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The News

10 • Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015

CAMERAS ON COPS Will this change the future of law enforcement?

By Martin Rand, III

mrand@rockdalenews.com

W

ith civil unrest still happening in various parts of the country, there’s been loud public outcry about how to mitigate situations that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City from happening in other cities in the future.

One such option that has been brought to the table is issuing body cameras to patrol officers. These are portable cameras that attach to police officers outer clothing and record their encounters with civilians.

Other law enforcement agencies in the country are already using them, but there isn’t any mandate that says officers have to use them. The Rockdale County Sheriff Office is looking to be the first sheriff’s office in the state of Georgia to issues body cameras to its deputies.

Sheriff Eric Levett and Chief Deputy Scott Freeman presented their body cameras initiative request before the Rockdale County Board of Commissioners at Tuesday’s work session.

In total, the RCSO wants to use $332,650 of federally seized drug asset money to purchase 107 body cameras to be used by patrol deputies, investigators and other departments, and 38 in-car cameras for the vehicles that currently do not have one. The body cameras will be purchased from New York-based L-3 Mobile-Vision.

While the request comes in the wake of national protest against law enforcement, Freeman says the RCSO has been looking into using body cameras since 2013.

“As part of us looking at how technology can help us, we started looking at (body cameras) in 2013,” he said. “We’ve been very proactive as a sheriff’s office prior to Ferguson.”

The RCSO is looking to deploy the cameras at some point during the first quarter of this year, says Freeman.

While he doesn’t believe body cameras are the end-all be-all solution, Freeman says that they could be a helpful tool in restoring some of the police interaction with the public.

“I’m firm believer of the heart that 99.9 percent of law enforcement officers were out here to do the right thing, but there are some (officers) and there are certain situations that can bring out the worst in us,” he said. “That can bring shame to law enforcement. It happens. There’s no doubt about it, but hopefully, body cameras will help restore some of our community engagement, because we have two black eyes right now in the U.S. when it comes to our use of force and perceptions that the public has of us.

“Body cameras are not the answer 100 percent. It’s just another tool that allows people to see the things that we deal with and hopefully allow people to garner a first-hand view of the things that we encounter.”

Benefit of body cameras The greatest benefit of using body-worn cameras is that every interaction an officer has with a civilian will be recorded and documented, which adds a level of transparency to the agency, says Freeman.

See CAMERAS on PAGE 11

The News

CAMERAS From PAGE 10

“Our deputies are not afraid of having their actions recorded,” he said. “We’re not doing anything wrong.”

About 10 deputies had purchased their own personal body cameras in the past, says Freeman, but the RCSO needs to have the ability to control the video footage that’s recorded.

With the department issued body cameras, each deputy would have an assigned camera, and the recorded video will have a date and time stamp just like an officer’s in-car cameras.

“A lot of the deputies want these on them,” said Freeman. “I think for the most part, our deputies want the body cameras because they see it as an opportunity.” According to a report from the U.S. Department of Justice, having a camera constantly rolling while police interact with civilians could reduce the amount of citizen complaints and change how officers and citizens interact with each other.

The DOJ report also says visual evidence could help expedite a resolution of citizen’s complaint’s or lawsuits against an agency.

“If I have contact with you, your interaction with me may be a lot more calming and your demeanor may be of a calmer demeanor if you know I’m video recording you,” says Freeman.

“It also keeps us in check as well.

If I know that everything that I say and every action that I take there’s a camera, it also keeps me in check to make sure I’m doing the right thing, saying the things that I need to, and that I hold myself to a professional level because I’m constantly knowing that I am being recorded.”

Freeman told the county board a police agency in California that uses body cameras has seen an 80 percent reduction in the number of police complaints filed against the agency.

Problems with body cameras There is a privacy concern when it comes to police using body cameras.

Georgia law prohibits video recording in private places, which is defined as “a place where one is entitled reasonably to expect to be safe from casual or hostile intrusion or surveillance.” This law does not apply to public or common areas, such as street or a public park.

Freeman says that this law would have altered before the department can issue deputies body cameras.

“Before we mass deploy all

“

Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015 • 11

It also keeps us in check as well. If I know that everything that I say and every action that I take there’s a camera, it also keeps me in check to make sure I’m doing the right thing, saying the things that I need to, and that I hold myself to a professional level because I’m constantly knowing that I am being recorded.

— Chief Deputy Scott Freeman

of our body cameras, we have to make sure legally we can record where we know for a fact we are going to be recording,” says Freeman. “What happens when your neighbor knows that we have a body cam and we went inside your house and they file an open records request to get our body cam? Well now they have been able to see inside your residence. So, it’s going to be interested to see how the laws are changed.”

Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police Executive Director Frank Rotondo says that police could record in private dwellings if an officer is called to the residence or business by a person who owns the property at which point all owners of the residence or business would have to give approval to being videotaped.

“The way the law reads is that you need all parties’ consent,” says Rotondo.

However, Rotondo added that he has had several discussions with state legislatures and anticipates the law will be changed during this year’s legislative assembly.

While privacy is a concern, Rotondo says the real issue with agencies using body cameras is the funding for digital storage of the recorded video.

“Body cameras aren’t expensive, but what is expensive is the storage,” he said. “If you think about every encounter police have with the public, you’re going to need a lot of storage space.”

Freeman says that won’t be a problem for the RCSO. When the department built its new digital system in 2013, they designed it with the idea that they would be storing digital video

from body cameras.

“Our network will support the addition of the body cameras,” said Freeman. “When we were building the back end, we had the thought of body cameras back then. We are now at the point of making a purchase.”

The body camera The model of body-worn video cameras the RCSO wants to purchase from L-3 Mobile Vision is called BodyVision.

The water-resistant device is a small, rectangular shaped box, about the size of an old-fashioned beeper.

It has a clip on to the back of the device that attaches to the front of the deputy’s shirt in between their second and third buttons. The front of the device clearly shows camera and about inch below it is an on/off switch.

The device records at 30 frames-per-second in high-definition. It records sound, but there is an audio mute option.

Video cannot be deleted from the device.

The rechargeable lithium-ion battery lasts for about four hours and takes two hours to completely charge, either by using a docking station or a micro USB port in an electrical power outlet.

Freeman says it would take about 10 minutes to transfer data from the camera to the main server.

“You don’t want to have a system where it has to sit in the docking station for a couple of hours because then you are keeping your deputies from being in the field,” he said.

cost about $250 each. It lasts for up to 10 hours and records video at 60 fps in high-definition.

Cripps says that there are additional costs associated with body cameras, such as digital storage, maintenance of the software and needing to purchase back-up body cameras in case one is lost or damage, that is preventing him from making a purchase right now.

Body cams vs in-car cams Body cameras wouldn’t replace in-car cameras but would work in tandem to document events, says Freeman.

He says that in-car cameras are more limiting in telling the story of what happened during a situation because they’re fixed in one position, so a body camera could help expand the narrative. “(In-car cameras) have been a tremendous success for many different reasons,” he said. “They do have a limit ability to tell the whole picture in some cases because it’s a fixed camera.”

He says that in-car cameras would be most beneficial during traffic stops, accident scenes and car chases.

Lucas shares the same feelings towards in-car cameras. “(Body camera footage is) just one more method of documentation that we can add to a file,” she said.

The Conyers Police Department has looked into using body-worn cameras for its patrol officers, says Conyers Police spokesperson Kim Lucas.

“We are currently in the process of testing three different models to see which one would work best,” she said.

The biggest hurdle for the department would be finding the necessary funds needed to increase its digital storage space to accommodate the additional video. Lucas says that the department could look into using either physical or cloud storage options.

The School Resource Officer who patrols Rockdale County High School is the only officer in the Conyers Police Department who is equipped with a body camera. He’s used one for the past three years.

Lucas says it’s because the A federal call for officer is dealing with juveniles body cameras throughout day and because President Barack Obama sughe’s inside the school the major- gested a community policing iniity of the day and away from his tiative in December. The initiapatrol vehicle, where there’s an tive proposes a three-year $263 in-car camera. million investment package that “The school has cameras and will increase the use of bodysometimes they help and some- worn cameras, expand training times they don’t, so it’s just to for law enforcement agencies, make sure we always have a add resources for police departvideo copy of events,” she said. ment reform, and multiply the Porterdale Police Chief Jason number of cities where the DOJ Cripps also has an interest in facilitates community and local purchasing body cameras for his LEA engagement. department as well. He says he’s As part of this initiative, a new had discussions with Porterdale Body Worn Camera Partnership City Manager Bob Thomson Program would provide a 50 perabout purchasing body cameras cent match to states or localities from Los Angeles-based Wolf- that purchase body-worn camerDiscount. com Enterprises. as and required storage.

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Sports Rockdale County 2014 all-area team

Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015 Page 13 rockdalenews.com

Davon Bigsby

By Shakeem Holloway

sholloway@rockdalenews.com

High school football season is long gone and signing day is just around the corner. Overall, Rockdale County’s three football teams had a pretty solid year. Both Salem and Rockdale went to the playoffs, while Heritage was up and down in what was a rebuilding season for the Patriots. Salem finished 6-5 and Rockdale finished 5-6, both teams were one and done in the playoffs, but had successful seasons.

When picking all-area teams, the decision is always difficult because there are so many players to consider and we can only include so many.

Below you will find some of the best players of the county, the Rockdale County all-area team:

Offense

Defense

QB: David Turner (Heritage)

DL: Robert Chamber (Salem)

RB: Devin Williams (Rockdale)

DL: Josh Smith (Heritage)

RB: Anthony Stanley (Heritage)

DL: Bher Cooper (Salem) LB: Mike Murray (Rockdale)

WR: Kanome McIntosh (Salem)

LB: Emanuel Holmes (Heritage)

WR: Keenan Johnson (Heritage)

LB: Daniel Foster (Heritage)

WR: TJ Warren (Rockdale) WR: Tarjee Steele OL: Davon Bigby (Salem)

LB: D.J. Clennon (Rockdale) DB: TJ Warren (Rockdale) DB: Nijaron Brown (Salem)

OL: Nick West (Salem)

DB: Malik Dawkins (Rockdale)

OL: Blake Davis (Rockdale)

DB: Quinton Dixon (Heritage)

OL: Tyson Turner (Salem) All-purpose: Hasan Boddie (Salem)

Kenan Johnson

TJ Warren

The News

Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015 • 14

The case for Rex Ryan RCHS athlete of the week: Jalen Jordan As the Atlanta Falcons sit back and relax on their couches as the NFL playoffs begin, one thing looms in the distance: who’s going to be their next head coach?

Multiple names have been attached to interview for the job, but the one that stands out the most is New York Jets’ former head coach, Rex Ryan.

Rex Ryan and former Falcons’ head coach Mike Smith are polar opposites. Ryan is a loud, tough-minded, passionate coach who wears his heart on his sleeve and Smitty...well he isn’t any of those things except, maybe passionate. Ryan is the head coach the Falcons need right now, and probably the one they deserve.

Some problems during Smith’s tenure include the Falcon’s continuous defensive struggles, his lack of emotion, bad decision making and most of all clock management. Atlanta could have beaten both Detroit and Cleveland this season had Smith managed the clock better. In the loss against Detroit, Smith lobbied to run a screen pass (that Julio Jones dropped) instead of running the ball to shorten the amount of time Detroit would have to score in a game the Falcons were winning late in the fourth quarter. A game they inevitably lost.

The storyline that followed the Falcons throughout the off-season this year, one that was ironically conveyed heavily on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” was

the Falcons being labeled “soft”. In the offseason Smith tried his best to Shakeem Holloway Sports Editor make his team tough and give them an edge, but it was to no avail. After six years of being a finesse team, it would have been a miracle to see them turn it around under Smith after just one off-season.

Teams generally take on the identity of their coach, and with Ryan the Falcons’ identity can take a turn for the better. Despite all the memes the infamous signal callers under Ryan – Geno Smith and Mark Sanchez – have spawned, you’ve never heard anyone call his team soft.

Since taking the job as head coach in 2009, Ryan’s defenses have ranked first, third, fifth, eighth, 11th and sixth in yards allowed according to pro-football-reference.com.

In that same timespan under Smith, the Falcons have ranked 21st, 16th, 12th, 24th, 27th and 32nd.

At various times throughout Smith’s tenure as head coach,which lasted seven years, fans have clamored to sports radio talk shows and social media for Smith’s lack of emotion.

Fans won’t have that problem

with Ryan. Ryan will boast and brag on the (currently) terrible defense of the Falcons and he’ll go to bat for his guys. And the wonders he could do with the Falcons talented secondary after they get a pass rush would be everything the Falcons need to be successful.

Ryan has never had the benefit of working with a team as talented offensively as the Falcons, but he’ll get them back to doing what championship teams do best, running the ball and playing defense.

Matt Ryan is at his best when he has a good running game, just look at the Michael Turner years. Rex can give Matt something he’s never had to play with in a defense that can hold a lead and potentially win a game or two for the Falcons when the offense doesn’t have it going.

Obviously, Ryan isn’t the end-all be-all and it won’t be an easy fix. The team still needs help on the offensive and defensive lines, but Rex is the right guy to get this house in order and when it is in order the Falcons could find themselves making deep playoff runs.

Shakeem Holloway is the sports editor at The News.

You can reach him at 770728-1413 or sholloway@ covnews.com.

Shakeem Holloway/The News

Jalen Jordan had one of the best dunks of the year so far when he jammed one on a fast-break against Alcovy on Tuesday. Jordan went on to score 18 points in the contest, leading the Bulldogs to a 72-45 win over the Tigers.

Q&A: Vernon Denmark How the Patriots have become a top-tier team

By Shakeem Holloway

sholloway@rockdalenews.com

Heritage boys basketball is in it good hands with head coach Vernon Denmark. The patriots are currently 9-6 (4-2 region 8-AAAAA) and tied for third place in the region. The only two losses come by a combined five points to Gainesville, first in the region and Apalachee, also tied for third place. Heritage has won five of its last seven games, including wins over Tucker and Tri-Cities, two very good teams. Denmark speaks on his team’s latest success and more in this exclusive Q&A. The Rockdale News: The team has won four of its last five, including wins over Tucker and Tri-Cities, what would you say is the key reason for the team’s success as of late?

Vernon Denmark: We’ve learned to play a little bit harder on the court, play a little bit harder defensively.

We kind of had a lapse where we kind of got away from some of the basic things. Learning how to hustle all the time and really give 100 percent effort on

the court and we did some things over the holidays to get back to that. I think that’s had a lot to do with us having success in some of the games we’ve had lately.

RN: Obviously, I have to ask you about the Tucker win, they’re a 6-AAAAAA team with a lot of talent, college-level talent. Schematically how were you guys able to stop them defensively, because they’re a high-scoring team that you held to their second-lowest point total this season?

Denmark: I think a lot of factors went into it. Being in that tournament I think they were a little down coming off their overtime loss to Miller Grove. We were playing in an auxiliary gym so I would love to take all the credit for it, but I do think that there were other factors that went into what happened it that game. But, I will say that we did defend well and we did a great job of rebounding the basketball and making sure that we limited their second chance opportunities.

RN: Beating a team like that, what does it do for the

team’s mentality going forward? Especially with region play beginning to kick up.

Denmark: It just lets us know that we have the capability to play with very, very good teams, but we have to come out and be consistent and play up to that level all the time. Which is probably our achilles heel at the moment. We don’t always play at a high level in each game and we’re trying to get to the point where we make that consistent.

RN: It seems like you guys are finally getting into a groove. How far do you think this team can go?

Denmark: When we’re playing well, I think that we’re probably as good as any team in the state. But again the inconsistency puts us at a point where we’re not always playing well. If we can get past that point – and a portion of that is our youth, playing three sophomores a good portion of the game. They’re still learning how to play at that high level and I think that if we can get to that by the end of the season then we have a good shot to be very successful in the state tournament.

The News

Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015 • 15

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an example of a city with similar racial disparities between government and residents as Ferguson, Mo., where protests erupted in August after the police killing of a black teen. No one at the “State of the City” mentioned the piece,

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Repeating a criticism of the media he made at a recent council meeting, Stroud said there should be more coverage of a Conyers officer given an award

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“When officers...especially if it’s the white officer who shoots the black youth, it makes national news. Here’s a white officer who saves a black youth, and we can’t get two lines in the newspaper,” Stroud said to applause, particularly from a seating section reserved for Conyers police officers and Rockdale Sheriff’s Office dep-

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- Pre-arrangements may be made to lessen the anxiety of making such an important decision after your pet has passed.

uties. (Editor’s note: For the article on Conyers Police Officer Stephen Blanchette and his award for heroism, visit rockdalenews.com.)

In terms of business development, Councilman Vince Evans said “2014 was not a banner year, nor was it a bad year.” He noted that the local Main Streets program is in a rebuilding phase, and that Conyers saw a lot of tourism, Hollywood film-

making and industrial expansion. The forthcoming Acuity Brands expansion just outside city limits will bring even more jobs than originally reported, Mills added-closer to 1,000 rather than 500.

Gary Hegwood of the Conyers Security Alert program was named the employee of the year, and received the Dee Buggay Award of Excellence, at a city staff event earlier in the day.

16 • Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015

The News