– Thursday, March 21, 2024 –
Good morning. This week, we’re examining complaints about the workplace culture at the Chatham County 911 center, an agreement for more police officers in Brunswick public housing and two stories involving current and former Coastal Georgia district attorneys.
Have a question, comment or story idea? Reach me at jake.shore@thecurrentga.org.
‘We NEED help’
The Chatham County 911 center has become a toxic workplace, employees report in a recent survey, obtained by The Current.
The center, which fields 911 calls and oversees emergency responses for all areas of the county (except for Tybee Island), has been under fire following complaints of unanswered 911 calls and long response times.
Employees of the 911 center report issues with management worsening understaffing and burnout among dispatchers and call takers.
“We NEED help. Tell the public the truth about what is going on in here,” a 911 staffer wrote, “We ARE mentally, physically and emotionally tired!”
Read The Current‘s reporting on the issues brought to light in the survey. We posted the survey in full in the article if you wish to read it for yourself.
More police in Brunswick public housing
The Brunswick Housing Authority will pay for four city police officers who are dedicated to patrolling and investigating alleged crimes in public housing.
The agreement, approved by the city commission on Wednesday evening, formalizes and expands upon an arrangement already in place where one Brunswick Police Department officer is assigned to the public housing units.
While city officials raised some concerns about over-policing of Black residents and criminalizing poverty, they approved the motion. The language of the agreement states that officers are “vested with the power to enforce the applicable ordinances and/or regulations of the City or the BHA.”
That means police officers being involved in eviction proceedings, accusation of trespassing on property and other violations of BHA rules, the city attorney said.
“What I want to guard against is any appearance that our officers are heading into a space that should be being handled by BHA staff or something to that nature. I don’t want an officer showing up to a door on something that can be handled internally,” Brunswick Mayor Cosby Johnson said, right before voting for the agreement exactly as it was written.
This sort of over-policing of regulations could make it harder for Brunswick’s poorest residents to get into or keep housing. Those who slide into homelessness will then struggle to find shelter in the city. A new investigation by The Current reported on how homeless people in Brunswick can’t get into the new housing intended for them.
In DA news
Here are two updates on stories The Current has been following involving current and former district attorneys in Coastal Georgia.
Chatham’s latest SVU prosecutor leaves
The prosecutor tasked with running the Special Victims Unit at the Chatham County District Attorney’s office has resigned.
Court documents and news reports indicate that Whitney Gregory, who prosecuted SVU cases under DA Shalena Cook Jones, left to work for the Brunswick DA’s office for higher pay.
SVU prosecutors, who go after accused rapists and domestic abusers, have left Cook Jones’ office in droves. Sex crime victims and advocates for those victims have expressed alarm at the impact losing those prosecutors is having on criminal cases.
Cook Jones has expressed dismay at the county’s pay scale which she says doesn’t let her pay prosecutors enough to entice or retain them — worsening understaffing and court delays.
More delays in Jackie Johnson case?
The Young Thug case in Atlanta continues to tie up the attorney who is also defending former Brunswick DA Jackie Johnson in her criminal case.
But a new filing estimates that the Atlanta trial could last until 2027, further delaying the scheduling of a trial date in the consequential court case in Glynn County. No trial date has been set.
Johnson is accused of prosecutorial interference on behalf of the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery. She is represented by lawyer Brian Steel, who also defends Jeffrey Williams, known as Young Thug, in a racketeering case that is currently the longest trial in Georgia history.
A court official told The Current last year that Steel’s representation of Williams is preventing any meaningful scheduling in the case.
The Current will keep watching Johnson’s case in Glynn County for updates.
Chatham’s 911 center is a toxic workplace, employees say
A workplace survey by Chatham County 911 employees takes aim at poor equipment and leadership, causing the center to become a toxic place to work and worsening short staffing.
Glynn homes for homeless caught in bureaucratic slog
Despite four years of planning and $4 million in private donations spent on construction, the group’s 60 fully furnished homes remain vacant, an unfortunate illustration of how bureaucratic red tape can frustrate even the most determined advocates trying to solve the problem of homelessness in Glynn County.
Georgia GOP senators hijack bill for culture war on trans treatment, sex ed and bathroom access
Original bill on mental health for student athletes now contains language to limit discussion of reproduction before 6th grade.
Bill criminalizing AI use in deceptive election ads advanced by Georgia Senate panel
Law would make it illegal to use AI-generated media in any political advertising with the intent to deceive voters
Walthourville takes first steps toward property tax
The proposed millage rate, if passed, would mean that Walthourville property owners would pay $15 for every $1,000 of their property’s assessed value.
One step forward, one step back in prosecution of Jackie Johnson in Arbery case
Former Brunswick area district Attorney Jackie Johnson prosecution faces repeated delays due to her lawyer’s other commitments, even after a judge set new deadlines to get the Ahmaud Arbery interference case moving.
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