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Ah. So there it is. |
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The chick guarding Nichols was 51????? Gosh, can't imagine how he managed to overpower her. |
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And she was about 5'. He is about 6 feet 1 inch. |
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That's like me (5'2") trying to subdue Arlie (he's 6'4"). Anyone else laughing at that? |
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On this board, you think people are LAUGHING at the thought of you wrestling Arlie? You don't know these guys very well  My four thoughts on the Atlanta situation: - It's been brought up in at least one article that extra security for this trial was specifically requested after they found the shanks on this guy the day before. One 5' 51-year-old-grandmother does not sound like extra security. I can understand typical complacency, but an event had already occurred that should have snapped them out of complacency on this one guy in particular. - Can you see the lawsuits rolling in now that it turns out people weren't even watching the security cameras? Jobs will be lost and money made off the city over that one alone. - Condolences to all involved. Several lives lost that had nothing to do with botching security at the courthouse. A true tragedy. - TV movie in 3 months, books start rolling in six. Have to wait a year or more for any that try to accurately get to the root of what happened. |
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Isn't this almost the same as the Barry Bonds quote from a few weeks ago? |
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It will not take that long. Former Fulton Sherriff Jackie Barrett spent more time stealing money from the county (in the millions) than running her department, and when she was removed left it in a complete mess. The most apparent problem was the jail, and it has taken a lot of time, effort and attention to get that in function order. Meanwhile, with the focus of the leadership on the jail and getting its manpower up to snuff, security at the courthouse has been falling into ruin. Unfortunately, it took this to get anyones attention. I have a feeling now there is going to be a lot of over-hauling done on security procedures at the courthouse. |
There goes FBCB2...
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dola: Sorry, couldn't reisist with the coincidence (I keep picturing the Seinfeld episode "It's not him!!!")
I certainly hope that they begin securing people much better in the future. How did it seem like a good idea to have a 51 year old lady watching this guy? |
Who was in charge of the early search? Well, it sounds like no one, really...
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I would say that again is a failure of the Sherriff's department. They would be in charge of the courthouse, and it would be up to them to ask for immediate help from the Atlanta Police (who would have the manpower to actually hunt for the killer). |
Unfathomably, this story just keeps getting worse. From this morning's AJC...
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Just in case anybody might be wondering how such a large county ended up with such an apparent nitwit as Sheriff ...
http://www.ourgeorgiahistory.com/chronpop/224 Basically, the originally elected sheriff was murdered in a conspiracy led by the man he defeated. So, the second choice gets elected to fill the vacancy http://www.ajc.com/monday/content/ep...a012f10a2.html Talk to some "regular people" (i.e. non-politicians) who knew Freeman during his GSP career & you get a pretty good understanding of how he got where he is today. Let's just say they aren't exactly complimentary of his law enforcement (or mental) capabilities. But he's a heck of an ass-kisser from what I gather. Certainly, no guarantees that Derwin Brown would have been any better ... but I bet I'm not the only person who has wondered what-might-have-been in the past couple of weeks. |
Good grief - is Atlanta the Dodge City of the 21st century? Should we call the National Guard in?
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Derwin Brown was to be sheriff in DeKalb County. I think the second article is about Fulton County, where the courthouse shootings took place. |
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I think my brain just cross-wired. Never sleep too little, work, and throw a quick post up all in close proxmity to each other. Thx for the straightening, I was just brain cramped I guess. |
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We can't - they're all in Iraq. |
You're welcome for the fat pitch, Flere. :D
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http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/12603776.htm
ATLANTA - Months after a shooting rampage left three dead at the Fulton County Courthouse, exasperated judges said that security cameras still haven't been plugged in and faulty doors have yet to be replaced. A task force charged with making security recommendations after the shooting also said Friday that the number of sworn officers assigned to the courthouse must be increased by roughly a third to secure the downtown Atlanta building. The findings prompted outcry from members of the panel angry at the county's cumbersome bureaucracy, which has been slow to react to the March 11 shootings despite repeated urgings from the task force. "A shooting of a judge - how more squeaky of a wheel can there be?" said Fulton County State Court Judge Penny Brown Reynolds, a member of the panel. "Here we are months later and we're talking about the same things," she said. "We can't get a definite answer as to whether cameras are working or whether they received our request. There's a breakdown somewhere." At a July meeting, panel member Richard Pennington, the Atlanta Police Chief, said dozens of work orders to repair malfunctioning security cameras, busted parking garage gates and faulty doors were ignored. Courthouse officials made 34 requests to repair malfunctioning alarms, for instance, but only 12 requests were acknowledged. Pennington said maintenance workers still haven't responded to the panel's requests for an explanation. At the same time, the sheriff's department has repeatedly failed to attend weekly meetings with the agency that oversees the repairs. Four of the last six meetings scheduled between the two departments have been canceled by the sheriff's department, said Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford, a member of the panel. "A fire needs to be lit under somebody," Bedford said. Even so, DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown, a member of the panel, recommended giving Fulton County Sheriff Myron Freeman more authority to directly hire sheriff's staffers, rather than go through the county's personnel department. A panel report recommended that 314 sworn officers should be assigned to the courthouse - a significant increase from the 200 to 235 officers now working in the building. Part of the problem, Brown said, is that sheriff's officials must wade through daunting red tape to fill vacancies. "There is no way to easily fill the positions. That's the way the bureaucracy was designed," Brown said with a sigh. Ultimately, the task force's recommendations will be in the hands of Freeman, who was besieged by calls for his resignation after the deadly shootings. Brian Nichols, who was on trial on a rape charge, is accused of shooting Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes and court reporter Julie Ann Brandau in the courthouse and sheriff's Sgt. Hoyt Teasley outside the courthouse. A fourth victim, federal agent David Wilhelm, was killed at his home later in the day. |
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And people wonder why this crap happens... Anyone else think it's time for someone in Atlanta to clean house? Where's the outrage? For people in Atlanta - are the news networks covering this? |
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I feel like it's pretty much an afterthought in a lot of ways. This got less play in the AJC for example, than an addition to the new downtown aquarium. Here's a look at the headlines, you can see where this ranked. MORE HEADLINES • Ophelia a hurricane again | Path | • Perdue signs gas bills • Panel: Security still lax at courthouse | • Shopper takes on Wal-Mart • Dog shot with arrow; teen charged | • Sculpture dedicated to Lewis This reminds me of a great story that I read a few years ago, that started with a parable frequently used by a local political analyst to describe Atlanta city government. (if anybody can find this, I'd be indebted, I've lost my link to the actual quote). I'll have to paraphrase. A young man of about 18 goes to a fortune teller & asks about his future. She peers into her crystal ball and gravely tells him that his 20's were sure to be full of misery & woe, lost jobs, lost love, poor health. And that his 30's were even worse, with personal & financial ruin time & again, he would find himself suffering in complete misery. Desparate for some glimmer of hope, he asks "What about in my 40's". She replies "Eh, it won't be as bad. By then, you'll be used to it". That pretty much sums up the situation with a lot of county government around Atlanta. It's been so bad for so long, people don't seem to notice as much as you might think, basically they've gotten used to it. |
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metr...26nichols.html
Judges maintain little work done on courthouse security By RHONDA COOK, BETH WARREN The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 09/26/05 Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford Jr. walked from a first-floor public hallway at the downtown county courthouse into a restricted area leading to his colleagues' offices. After passing a desk where an unarmed civilian security officer sat, Bedford and a visitor approached Courtroom 1C from the back. The door was unlocked. "Look at the first floor," the frustrated judge said as he opened the door and looked over his shoulders to the area he had just passed. "It's wide open." It was through a similar unlocked door on March 11 that authorities say Brian Nichols entered Judge Rowland Barnes' courtroom and fatally shot him and his court reporter, Julie Ann Brandau. Since that time Bedford and others, including a security commission formed by Sheriff Myron Freeman, say little has changed to make the courthouse safe. But Sheriff's Maj. Antonio Johnson, who has been in charge of courthouse security since last month, said there have been improvements in security in the six months since the killings, which included the deaths of a deputy sheriff and later a U.S. Customs agent. "They [judges] have a right to have concerns, and I'm trying to make sure their concerns are not overlooked," Johnson said. "I'm going to do everything I can" to make the building secure. Progress claimed Bedford said judges have been lobbying the Sheriff's Department and county for more than a year to install a locked door leading to the judges' offices, where magistrates and one Superior Court judge work. "We've been told that's in the works," Bedford said. Johnson and county officials say Fulton is spending $750,000 to improve security, and much is in the works, including the installation of cameras and more secure doors, and retraining of deputies. According to Johnson, courtrooms on each floor have been wired to provide electricity to surveillance cameras that are being installed, although only cameras on the first floor are working. Camera connections remain to be completed in 12 courtrooms. The cameras would transmit images to a larger control room, which would replace the current station. Deputies also will have larger monitors to watch courthouse activity. Johnson said 25 of the 63 doors to inmate cells in the courthouse have been retrofitted with trap doors so deputies can handcuff inmates without coming in contact with them. A deputy was removing Nichols' handcuffs when he allegedly overpowered her, got her gun and began his shooting spree. Johnson said three steel doors are removed each day and sent out to have slots cut into them. He said work on all of the doors should be completed in October. He said Bedford's concerns about open areas leading to some first-floor judges' chambers will be addressed as soon as the Atlanta Fire Department approves adding a wall and locked door to an area that is now a fire escape route. X-ray machines at the courthouse's two main entrances have been replaced with new technology and duress buttons for judges and court staff have been "revamped . . . and are all operational," Johnson said. Exit doors leading from the courthouse on the Pryor Street side of the judicial complex have been reinforced. Freeman said he routinely will rotate deputies from posts throughout the courthouse to keep them from becoming complacent. He was referring to concerns that deputies were following orders from judges instead of their superiors. "When I hear a judge tell me 'my deputy' that tells me I have a problem," Freeman said. "The Secret Service always rotates staff . . . so you don't get so familiar, so you don't get involved. You've got to be able to do your job and do it effectively and efficiently. Sometimes you can't do your job well if you're too emotionally involved." State Court Judge Henry Newkirk, a member of Freeman's task force, said he has noticed increased security in the parking area — a new fence has been installed for judges — and inside the courthouse. "I feel very safe coming in the courthouse," Newkirk said. "I think there's a very good presence of deputy sheriffs within the courthouse. There's always room for improvement, and I hope things continue to progress."Infighting blamed Cherokee County Sheriff Roger Garrison, who serves on the subcommittee that reviewed three previous security audits of courtroom security as well as requests for repairs, said he's not sure who is right. "I would have to defer to the judges on the commission and the people who work inside the Fulton County Courthouse day in and day out," Garrison said. "They are the ones telling us, 'No, these things are not done.' " Atlanta police Chief Richard Pennington, who heads the task force's subcommittee assigned to building security and repairs, has said repeatedly that courthouse safety has been compromised by bureaucratic power struggles and communication problems between the judges, the Sheriff's Department and the county's General Services Department, which maintains the building and is responsible for seeing that repairs are done. But Friday, a spokeswoman for Pennington said the chief was briefed several days ago on the status of work and was told most of the problems had been fixed. Johnson, who replaced Maj. Orlando Whitehead as head of security after Freeman forced Whitehead to retire, contended the Sheriff's Department would make sure improvements are made. "We're going to work with everybody," Johnson said. "My job is to get the job done. Unfortunately, some things take a while." Courtroom 1C, which Judge Bedford found unlocked, is the same courtroom where Nichols' pretrial hearings are held. He has pleaded not guilty to charges he murdered Barnes, Brandau, Deputy Hoyt Teasley and customs agent David Wilhelm. He could be sentenced to die if he is convicted of any of the four killings. For Bedford, who lost a close friend in the courthouse shootings, the slow delay in improvements is worrisome. "I just have an overwhelming sense of sadness," Bedford said Friday as he pointed to a picture of Barnes on his desk. "We're just trying to prevent it from happening again." |
Seems that Saint Ashley had a little ice in her apartment that fateful night. The big speculation at the UGA boards back then was "Did he hit it?" Hmmmmm.....
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I think I am going to puke...were they trying to write an account of what happened, or a Fabio-esque bodice ripper???? Blech! |
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Ewwww! I had never even thought of that, but now I can't get the visual out of my mind!!!!! Thanks a lot! :mad: |
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This also explain why she didn't have custody of the kid.
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It was also the subject of quite a bit of speculation here at my house. It just seemed so obvious. |
Don't you think if she did ride him she'd include it in her book to maximize sales and capitalize on her 5 minutes of fame? I mean crystal meth isn't cheap and she has to fund her habit ... oh, sure she's "clean" now.
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She could claim "stockholm syndrome". |
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How would nailing him be aiding and abetting? It's no different than providing him with drugs, is it? |
I just want to know what the over/under line is on how long it'll be before she's arrested for either a drug charge or something connected to another bad-choice boyfriend.
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Of course, he could have just raped her.
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Agreed. I actually would think providing him with drugs would be worse legally. Though I do agree with Ben on the thought she might just didn't want to face her family if she admitted to sex. |
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My suspicions are further stoked by the drug revelation specifically because I'm wondering why she didn't just lie to him. This conversation is just a little hard to imagine: Admitted Mass Murderer: "You got any reefer?" Unwilling, Fearful Captive: "No, but I've got some ice. You want that?" She doesn't come across as the sharpest knife in the drawer by any means, but I'm having a hard time fathoming how she thought that geting him high would help make her more safe. :confused: |
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Especially on meth. It is not a "calming" drug. |
I could turn her around, I could make her a better person... oh wait...
Never mind guys, got that "feminine side" under control... Won't be getting in touch with it again, anytime soon... But she is hot in a trashy sort or way. Why couldn't she just do Penthouse like every other not-so-famous, not-so-hot personality? -Chas |
Hey baby... have any fugitive in you?
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Has she admitted to being a stripper yet?
That was my first thought last spring when she said she "got home from work" about 2 AM. |
Yup, no one but strippers work late nights... :rolleyes:
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what's the over/under on the book proceeds going to a brand new meth lab named "angel dust" in atlanta?
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Point is there was a "there's something not quite right about this one vibe." |
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/met...arnessuit.html
Attorneys representing the widow of a judge fatally gunned down in his courtroom sent written notice today to county officials that a wrongful death lawsuit will be filed soon. The notice, sent to the Fulton County manager, commission chair and Sheriff Myron Freeman, warns that the suit will single out the sheriff's employees who violated departmental policies and failed to protect Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes and others. ... When he was killed, Barnes was overseeing a civil case without an armed deputy in the courtroom — something the Barnes' family attorneys says is a violation of Georgia law. The notice names Capt. Chelisa Lee, an 18-year sheriff's department veteran who failed to pass along information about the discovery of metal in Nichols' shoes and failed to assign additional security to Nichols. Investigators say Lee lied to cover up for her inaction. She was one of several employees fired or forced to retire in August. Lee, who is appealing her firing, had sent a subordinate to get her breakfast at a time when the subordinate was supposed to be monitoring security cameras around the courthouse. Neither security specialist Alphonzo Wright nor deputy Paul Tamer were at their posts in the video control room when Deputy Cynthia Hall, who was escorting Nichols, was overpowered, investigators said. The investigators also found that the video monitoring equipment had not been activated for that day. Wright and Tamer are also named in the notice as targets of the upcoming lawsuit. So is Maj. Orlando Whitehead, who was in command of courthouse security. Whitehead, a 17-year department veteran, retired in August in lieu of being fired. "Another of the most culpable officers is Lt. Gary Reid," the notice of an expected suit claims. "As a direct result of Reid's abuse of sick leave, there was a critical under-staffing in the area immediately surrounding Judge Barnes' office and courtroom." Reid, an 18-year sheriff's department veteran, received a 20-day suspension and no longer works at the courthouse. He had no comment on the allegations against him. |
Not directly related to the courthouse shooting, but close enough that the hits just keep on coming ...
http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/12885927.htm Georgia deputy arrested in Alabama on cocaine charge MOBILE, Ala. - A Fulton County, Ga., sheriff's lieutenant who works as a supervisor at the county jail has been arrested and charged in Alabama with trafficking cocaine, authorities said Wednesday. Dwayne Turner, 40, of Jonesboro, Ga., was arrested by FBI agents and Mobile County sheriff's deputies on Tuesday, FBI special agent in charge Debra K. Mack said in a statement. Turner, who was suspended from the sheriff's department 15 months ago for authorizing a rap video in the jail, was arrested in the parking lot of a restaurant near the intersection of Interstate 85 and East Avenue in Montgomery. A criminal complaint against Turner was filed Oct. 5 before U.S. Magistrate Judge William E. Cassady in Mobile, charging Turner with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. The complaint resulted from a joint probe by the Mobile County sheriff's office and the FBI in Mobile, the statement said. If convicted, Turner could be sentenced to a maximum 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine. Sgt. Nikita Hightower, a spokeswoman for Fulton County Sheriff Myron Freeman, said the drug case was unrelated to the jail. Hightower said an internal investigation would be launched and that Turner, an employee since 1991, probably would be suspended indefinitely once all the information was received from the FBI. She said the department first learned of the investigation against Turner when he was arrested. According to the FBI affidavit, a man arrested in April with about a half-pound of cocaine identified Turner as a supplier of both cocaine and marijuana, which the informant said he sold in the Mobile area. The informant, whose name was blacked out in a copy of the affidavit obtained by The Associated Press, arranged a meeting with Turner at a Montgomery restaurant on Oct. 4. There, the informant purchased a Zip-Loc plastic bag of about 4 ounces of cocaine for $3,000, the affidavit indicated. In the summer of 2004, former Fulton County Sheriff Jackie Barrett suspended Turner and three other deputies for their roles in allowing rapper Clifford Harris, known as T.I., to use a maximum security cell, guards and inmates as props for a video. Barrett at first fired Turner, but Hightower said the termination was reduced to a suspension. |
I love TI.
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