– Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024 –
Good morning and welcome to February. In this week’s public safety newsletter, we’re covering recently released documents on a Savannah police detective’s firing, a statehouse bill targeting organizers like those of Tybee’s Orange Crush and a date set for Supreme Court arguments in a former Glynn County Police chief’s criminal case.
Questions, comments or story ideas? Email me at jake.shore@thecurrentga.org.
Second fired Savannah detective
Former Savannah Police Department Cpl. Darryl Repress rose through the ranks after starting as a patrol officer in 2013. He made a name for himself by cultivating community relationships and using those relationships to catch criminals.
But those relationships ultimately led to his ouster in September 2023, according to previously unreported internal investigation documents.
Repress was the subject of an internal investigation last year after a complaint about his relationship with an off-the-books police informant. It was the second firing of a Savannah Police detective in 2023 due to ethical concerns. Homicide detective Ashley Wood was terminated over accusations she gave false statements to obtain warrants in a murder investigation.
Reporting by The Current details what led to Repress’ firing and how both detectives’ alleged misconduct are impacting criminal cases working their way through the courts.
Crushing Orange Crush?
Two Savannah legislators and one from Rincon proposed a bill this week to allow citizens to file public nuisance complaints targeted at organizers of unpermitted events.
The inspiration behind this bill was the 2023 iteration of the long-running Orange Crush event on Tybee Island, according to State Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah). Upwards of 40,000 people attended, bringing traffic to a standstill and cars parked on the sidewalk, while law enforcement resources were tied up, according to reporting from the event (The Savannah Morning News wrote a helpful recap last year).
Orange Crush has a complicated history on Tybee Island between the residents, the majority of which are white, and the attendees, the majority of which are Black. It’s developed a reputation for unsavory and disorderly behavior, while at the same time, has been a decades-long tradition for students of Historically-Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to attend the parties at the Tybee beaches that were once whites-only — and desegregated in the 1960s by activists wading in the water.
The bill sponsored by Petrea, Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah) and Rep. Bill Hitchens (R-Rincon) would allow a city attorney, county attorney or prosecutors’ offices to take up a public nusiance complaint against the promoters. The goal would be to “recover on behalf of the public from a promoter or organizer of the unpermitted event reimbursement of all expenses incurred by a local governing authority associated with public safety,” including traffic, fire and sanitation services, the bill states.
“Because you’ve chosen to go a non-permitted route, because you’ve chose to do it this way … we’re coming after you,” Petrea said. “That’s the hope. That this will be a deterrent to these these types of events.”
Ex-Glynn chief to the Supreme Court
A week from today, a former Glynn County Police chief will make his case to the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Justices will hear arguments from a lawyer for former Chief John Powell and his top deputy disputing criminal charges brought against them. The charges, from two separate grand juries, accused Powell of covering for misconduct in the department’s now-dissolved drug unit.
Though hired to right the ship of GCPD in 2018, Powell found himself indicted days after Ahmaud Arbery’s killing in 2020: the two events becoming entwined in a narrative of a police department with deep cultural issues.
The Current has been tracking the continued unfurling of the GCPD drug unit scandal. Catch up with our coverage from the arguments Powell’s team will make next week to our in-depth look into Powell’s hiring and embattled tenure in Glynn County.
Savannah detective fired over dealings with unofficial police informant
Savannah Police Department leaders fire Cpl. Darryl Repress after an internal investigation into his relationship with an off-the-books police informant. It’s the second time a detective was fired last year over ethics and has impacts on ongoing court cases.
500 new police guns will help failing recruits pass academy, Savannah brass says
The Savannah Police Department and city leaders made misleading claims advocating for 500 new guns with red-dot sights. One reason was that the sights will help failing recruits pass the police academy.
Glynn County Police records reveal racial undercurrent
The Georgia police department responsible for the Ahmaud Arbery murder investigation was told four years ago it had a potential problem with bias. The Current shines a light on just how deep that goes.
Ex-Glynn County police chief’s case heads to Georgia Supreme Court
Former Glynn County Police Department Chief John Powell will have his appeal heard by Supreme Court of Georgia. He faces criminal charges for allegedly ignoring a host of misconduct in his agency’s drug unit.
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.
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