This week’s Courier Herald column: Somewhat quietly but very methodically, the issue of mental health and how it is treated in Georgia has become a policy focus for the Georgia legislature. The topic has long been a bit of a sore spot among the other policy laurels the state has achieved, as well as the
This week’s Courier Herald column: A year is several eternities in politics even in normal times. Our ongoing pandemic seems to have slowed time to a crawl, and the year that has transpired since the 2020 elections seems to have been much, much longer than that. Georgia had a few high profile municipal elections and
This week’s Courier Herald column: Georgia House Speaker David Ralston this week unveiled a $75 million spending proposal for “Law Enforcement and Mental Health”. The headline feature of the package is a one-time $1,000 bonus for every POST certified local police officer and sheriff’s deputy in the state. State law enforcement officers received a $1,000
Georgia was founded in January 2, 1788. For the first time in 232 years, there are seven African American women as the lead prosecutors in some of the State’s largest counties. Last night’s runoff election solidified that Dekalb, Cobb, Clayton, Douglas, Rockdale, Macon, and Fulton will all have black women as their District Attorney’s. I
Congressman Doug Collins made a not-all-together incorrect statement that an Independent District Attorney should be appointed in the killing of Rayshard Brooks. After being forced into a runoff, Atlanta DA Paul Howard chose to make political hay from Brooks’ death. The connection Collins draws with Brooks and Ahmaud Arbery seems a bit specious, however. In
Seeking a “complete and transparent review”, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr today asked the United States Department of Justice to review the handling of the Ahmaud Arbery case. Arbery was shot and killed February 23rd of this year, but arrests in the case were not made until a video publicly surfaced of the shooting, with
The following is from a press release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. You can find background on this case from Ladawn B. Jones here and here. Glynn County, GA – On May 7th, 2020, the GBI arrested Gregory McMichael, age 64, and Travis McMichael, age 34, for the death of Ahmaud Arbery. They were
The following is a guest Op-Ed by Representative John Carson of Cobb County: Changing the Culture of Distracted Driving Through House Bill 113 Due to the alarming increase of smartphone use and traffic fatalities, the Georgia General Assembly passed the Hands-Free Georgia Act in 2018, which was signed into law later that year by former
From a press release: Atlanta, GA – Today the Board of Public Safety voted unanimously to approve former Tift County Sheriff Gary Vowell to serve as the interim commissioner of the Department of Public Safety. Governor Kemp applauded the board’s decision, citing Vowell’s lifelong career in law enforcement and dedication to integrity and public service. Vowell
11Alive’s investigative news show “The Reveal” ran a story that, if true, is incredibly disturbing for Rep. Trey Kelley and Cedartown Police Chief Jamie Newsome. The condensed story: a reported friend of Rep. Kelley, Ralph “Ryan” Dover, hit a bicyclist in Cedartown who eventually died. Rather than call 911, Dover called Kelley. He too failed
