In the span of two weeks, three people at least associated with the Atlanta LGBT community have been killed. And while the Atlanta Police Department stresses that gay people are not being targeted, there is a buzz from some asking, “What is going on? Are we safe?”
At press time, there were 62 homicides in Atlanta this year with three knowingly related to the LGBT population, said Major Keith Meadows, commander of the Atlanta Police Department’s Major Crimes Section, during an interview Monday at his office at Public Safety Headquarters on Peachtree Street.
The Atlanta Police Department continues to reach out to the LGBT community, as well as other segments of the city’s population, and ask for their help in solving all crimes. Crime Stoppers is the best way to give a tip to police to solve some of these crimes.
Senior Patrol Officer Powell, the police department’s LGBT liaison, will conduct a series of public safety seminars for LGBT people beginning Sept. 23 at Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse.
The Atlanta Police Department will soon name a second LGBT liaison, the department announced Aug. 31, after previously insisting that APD already had two LGBT liaisons.
In the release, which also announces the members of the new nine-member LGBT advisory board, Mayor Kasim Reed “pledged to have the Atlanta Police Department appoint a second GLBT liaison.” Having two LGBT liaisons on the APD was a campaign promise he made last year while running for mayor.
However, what is not said in the release is what will happen to Dani Lee Harris, the former LGBT liaison who went on medical leave in April after she said suffered gran mal seizures.
The six male teens charged with felony armed robbery in the bias crime against a gay pastor and his friend will be charged as adults and face a bond hearing Aug. 19.
The teens, ages 13 through 19, have been indicted for felony armed robbery and were arraigned Aug. 2 in Fulton Superior Court when the bond hearing was set.
Those charged are Sam Johnson, 17; Benjamin Johnson, 16; and Daequan Lewis, 15, who are all listed as living at the same residence in Stone Mountain. Also charged is Jarvis Johnson, 19, of Parkway Drive in Atlanta. Sam Johnson was identified by APD as the gunman. Atlanta Police reports identified Jamal Bryant, 13, and Tyrone Smith, 16, as two other suspects who are also charged as adults.
After a three-year stint in the Army, Patricia Powell was managing her brother’s barbecue restaurant, Hecky’s in Evanston, Ill., when she got a phone call from her sister in Atlanta.
“She said I should move down here, they were hiring police officers. I said, ‘Me, a police officer?’ She said you’d be good, you’re in shape,” Powell said.
Powell, who played basketball for the Army (position: guard), was ready to move from the cold climate of Chicago and the restaurant business and try something new.
So at 35 she packed her bags, moved to Atlanta and began the process of becoming an APD officer. Some 11 years later, she was named the department’s LGBT liaison officer.
Atlanta Police Chief George Turner, gay liaison Patricia Powell and City Council member Alex Wan hope to address community’s concerns
The Atlanta Police Department with help from the U.S. Marshal's Office and the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole arrested a man today in the beating of a state parole officer.
Gregory Johnson, 30, of Atlanta, has been charged with robbery and aggravated battery in the attack on George B. Walker, 31, an officer with the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles. Johnson will be transported to the Fulton County Jail, according to a press release issued at 6:20 p.m. today
Atlanta Police Department officers went to the Atlanta Eagle Tuesday night after a missing state parole officer’s vehicle was found in the gay bar’s parking lot.
Rev. Josh Noblitt, social justice minister at St. Mark United Methodist Church, read an "Open Letter to the Beloved Community" during Sunday's services at the church.
Rev. Josh Noblitt of Saint Mark United Methodist Church and his partner say they were robbed at gunpoint Friday in Piedmont Park by a group of young men after being asked if they were gay.
Noblitt said he and his partner, Trent, were having a picnic dinner on the grassy area on 10th Street at about 9:45 p.m. on July 2 when three young men approached them.
“They walked up directly to us and asked, ‘Are y’all gay? Two men laying on a blanket. We ought to beat y’all for that,’” Noblitt said.
Two local gay men report being robbed at gunpoint in Piedmont Park