December 22, 2022
Glynn County police chief’s past
With the resignation of Chief Jacques Battiste, Glynn County finds itself again searching for a new police chief. This week, The Current‘s Jake Shore looked back at the hiring of Battiste’s predecessor, John Powell, for clues about what led to Powell’s indictment and troubles in Coastal Georgia ahead of his 2023 criminal trial.
The county officials will have to make a similar choice and conduct background investigations when hiring its new police chief.
The Current interviewed eight former supervisors, police officers and colleagues who worked with Powell across three states during his 37-year-career, in addition to reviewed multiple previous court cases involving Powell.
- As police chief of the racially divided town of Dothan, Alabama, Powell hired a controversial cop from his own hometown whose violent past made him untouchable for Florida police.
- An officer on that force, meanwhile, accused Powell of being complicit in attempts to change legal testimony and protect problematic officers.
- Separately, a Florida sheriff whom Powell was seeking to unseat accused him of violating campaign finance law.
Powell and his lawyer did not respond to several requests for comment.
Savannah gun violence, murders: mixed bag
A gun violence researcher found murders decreased in numerous U.S. cities, some of which could be attributed to falling gun violence.
Researcher Jeff Asher, a former CIA analyst and co-founder of a firm that specializes in criminal justice data, collected the data during the first week of December: it showed murders declined by 15% in Savannah between December 2021 (32 murders) and December 2022 (27 murders). He tallied year-to-date statistics from over 90 cities. In cities like Chicago and Charlotte, the data reflected a drop in gun violence driving the murder decrease.
But between the weeks of December 3 and December 17, homicides in Savannah rose from 27 to 31, after a rash of violent crime: two murders from shootings, a domestic violence killing, and a hit-and-run homicide. The Savannah Police Department numbers showed shootings remained consistent with 2020 statistics.
Context: In 2020, murders increased nationally by almost 30%, the sharpest one-year increase in U.S. history.
Yes, but: Those numbers are still much lower than the murder rates in the 1990s. While Savannah recorded 31 murders in 2020, the city dealt with 59 murders in 1991, according to FBI crime statistics.
Banned books
Georgians in prison are forbidden from reading dozens of books, including the “Fifty Shades of Grey” trilogy, “Hacking for Dummies,” and several books on serial killers.
As banned book debates light up local school districts, The Marshall Project queried every state prison system about their banned books lists. This week, the outlet published the list from the Georgia Department of Corrections.
There were no official reasons cited with each of Georgia’s banned books.
Check out Georgia prisons’ full list for yourself.
Programming note
There will be no Undercurrent newsletter next week. The next edition will be on January 5.
Happy holidays and see you in the new year.
As trial approaches, indicted former Glynn County police chief’s history shows controversies
When John Powell took over in 2018 as Glynn County police chief, officials hoped he’d work to build community trust. Now he faces trial on charges stemming from an out-of-control narcotics unit.
Savannah surpasses other police departments in solving murders. Why?
The snapshot of successful detective work, homicide clearance rates, are a mark of pride for the Savannah Police Department that has struggled in recent years with morale inside the force and its ability to foster community good will. While a high statistic, some experts and advocates say it doesn’t tell the whole story […]
Gun deaths hit all-time high (again) in 2021
Gun deaths in the US have increased in 2021 after a historic high in 2020. Now the 12th leading cause of death ahead of car crashes, the data shows gun violence is on the rise — equally by homicides and suicides.
Glynn County got its first Black police chief last year. Why did he just resign?
Glynn County hired its first Black police chief after Ahmaud Arbery’s murder. He has now quit, saying he was tired of being ‘beaten up every day’ for trying to reform the force.
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