– Thursday, June 20, 2024 –
Good morning. In this week’s public safety newsletter, we report on a shooting by a Savannah Police officer, an assessment for the beleaguered state prison system, an update on the hospitalized Chatham County sheriff and a chance encounter with a mayoral candidate who potentially violated election laws.
Questions, comments or story ideas? Reach out to me at jake.shore@thecurrentga.org. Let’s dig in.
NEWS: PUBLIC SAFETY
Chatham sheriff remains hospitalized
It’s been four days since the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office announced that Sheriff John Wilcher was hospitalized and in critical condition for an undisclosed reason.
The announcement came as a surprise to many, as the sheriff just held his reelection announcement party a week ago. Well wishes to Wilcher and his family came in from across Coastal Georgia’s government circles. The 79-year-old Republican sheriff has a reputation for gruffly speaking his mind, answering every phone call he receives and showing up for community events.
Chief Deputy Gary Taylor did not answer questions about Wilcher’s health at a press conference Tuesday, saying the sheriff’s family would send updates. On Wednesday, Wilcher’s family sent a note of gratitude via email and social media for the community’s support and said the sheriff “experienced a cardiac event” at home Sunday morning. The note also said “While his condition is still serious, we are grateful that our prayers, along with yours, are working. He has been improving every day.”
Taylor, who led the Tuesday press conference, thanked the community for sending prayers and respecting the Wilcher family’s privacy.
He emphasized the roles of the command staff members in the sheriff’s absence. “Everybody’s running the day to day…I don’t look at me running things, I look at us running things,” he said.
Taylor said that the sheriff’s office stands as a “dynamic, diverse, experienced command staff who has experience to do the job.” He said there is no one person taking over the role of sheriff at this time.
NEWS: PUBLIC SAFETY
First ‘officer-involved’ shooting in two years
The Savannah Police Department had its first “officer-involved shooting” in nearly two years after someone allegedly shot at a police officer, and the officer shot back on Monday night, according to state authorities.
SPD officers responded to a reported theft at a CBD dispensary near Ogeechee Road and Chatham Parkway at 7:20 p.m. and encountered the alleged thief, 29-year-old Quayshon Whitehurst, across the street behind the Circle K gas station, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
“An officer confronted Whitehurst and told him to stop. Instead, Whitehurst pulled his gun out and fired at the officer. The officer returned fire, hitting Whitehurst,” the GBI stated in a Tuesday news release. The officer was uninjured. After Whitehurst was hospitalized and “in stable condition,” GBI agents charged the Hinesville man on assault charges.
This is the first such-shooting under Chief Lenny Gunther’s tenure. He took over during the tumultuous summer of 2022, when five officer shootings had occurred in a six-month span. The shootings, particularly the fifth, rocked the city and hastened the impending departure of then-Chief Roy Minter.
NEWS SERVICE: PUBLIC SAFETY
Georgia prisons violence review
Widespread violence in Georgia prisons culminated in a rare type of security failure last weekend, when an inmate used a gun to shoot a food-service worker, before committing suicide on Sunday.
It occurred at Smith State Prison in Glennville, around 20 miles west of Hinesville. The food-service worker was a woman from Statesboro. While attacks in prisons are nothing new, an inmate killing someone using a smuggled-in handgun is virtually unheard of.
One day after the murder-suicide, Gov. Brian Kemp announced that the state is partnering with a Chicago-based consulting firm to conduct an” in-depth, system-wide assessment of the state corrections system to identify current strengths, opportunities, and recommendations to enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness.”
Deaths and suspected murders in Georgia’s prison system are higher than most other states in the South, including those with larger prison systems, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
NEWS: ELECTIONS
One more thing: Being persistent
After reporting on potential violations of Georgia election law by a little-known Savannah mayoral candidate last fall, The Current was never able to reach longshot-candidate Tyrisha Davis.
Phone calls and text messages went unanswered, and she declined to speak with a reporter who visited the taxi company she worked at. I never got to directly ask her the question on many people’s mind (including Mayor Van Johnson’s, who told The Current he believed Davis was compensated to run to split votes): Did someone pay her to run for mayor?
The evidence to support that question is as follows: Davis recently moving to the area, her previous lack of political participation, and reported low income despite paying the $1,710 qualifying fee in cash. That is in addition to her debunked home address in city limits and that she failed to properly register to vote, or even vote at all. It’s not illegal to pay someone to run for office, but it does suggest someone with money is trying to influence an election from behind the scenes.
So when I saw Davis at the 38th Street park Juneteenth festival on Saturday, I had to talk with her. I politely asked her who — if anyone — supported her run for mayor.
“No, I’m not doing that right now,” she told me before storming off.
The Current will keep following the story, even if the city of Savannah and the state decided it’s not worth investigating.
State hires consultant to assess violence in Georgia prison system
Georgia hiring consultant to launch in-depth assessment of Georgia Department of Corrections’ prisons to improve safety, Gov. Kemp announced.
Coastal Georgia celebrates Juneteenth 2024
Communities have planned various celebrations throughout the days ahead to recognize and celebrate Juneteenth. We’ll file reports and photos from across the area over the week ahead.
Tybee seeks solution to its ‘water insecurity’
The city of Tybee Island is set to buy about four acres of undeveloped land on the island’s north end as a way to potentially meet water demands.
Data dive: What is ‘affordable housing’ in Coastal Georgia? It depends.
This local HUD income number is — or should be — important for local policymakers when they’re trying to decide what kind of housing and public services will be built in their communities.
Where does Savannah’s little-known mayoral candidate live?
The Current has been unable to find a confirmed Savannah-based home address for Davis, nor any record of her voting in Georgia – two issues that raise questions about whether she meets the requirement that political candidates must live in Savannah for one year and be a valid registered voter to run for […]
Sapelo Island residents renew rezoning fight at historic community
A Georgia attorney for the last intact Gullah Geechee island community says new county zoning law is “discriminatory.”
Glynn County Commission District 2 candidates talk final days of campaign in Republican runoff
In June 2022, the county commission approved a $6 million budget for constructing a roundabout at Sea Island Rd and Frederica Rd. Whoever wins Tuesday’s runoff is expected to wield significant influence over the rollout of this project.
Support independent, solutions-based investigative journalism without bias, fear or favor on issues affecting Savannah and Coastal Georgia.
You must be logged in to post a comment.