Open Comments

Sgt. Jerry R. Banks Arrested For Obstruction

Things not looking good for Banks.

"A DeKalb County police sergeant whose wife was beaten and robbed earlier this month outside their home is himself in trouble with the law.

Sgt. Jerry R. Banks, 42, was arrested Friday morning while police were executing a search warrant at the home of a female acquaintance.

Police were investigating reports that Cherise McMoore may have threatened someone. Detectives were at her home near Lithonia when she arrived with Banks, who police described as "her companion," DeKalb police spokeswoman Lt. Pamela Kunz said.

Banks disrupted the detective's investigation and was arrested on obstruction charges, Kunz said. Police would not say what he did.

McMoore also was arrested, and she was charged with making terroristic threats and acts.

Banks' wife was attacked in the early hours of May 13 after returning home from a night out with a friend, police said.

The wife, whose name has not been disclosed, was in critical condition at Grady Memorial Hospital at one point with cuts on the back of her head. She currently is recovering.

Banks told police he was inside the house and did not hear his wife being attacked outside. He has not been considered a suspect. No arrests have been made in that case.

According to jail and court records, Banks was arrested in 1997 on simple and family battery allegations, but the charges were dismissed.

McMoore, 33, has had several previous arrests for trespassing and theft by taking, according to court documents. Those cases appear to be unresolved."

AJC

Important Notice About DKPD Retirement

Back in January 2012, we warned of possible major changes to our pension and to the pension board. Now the F.O.P. has the same concerns.

Here is an email the F.O.P. is sending out. We took the liberty to post it.
This is some truly frightening stuff!

"Until recently, the Executive Board and members of the DeKalb FOP were never concerned about the health of our pension. We were told numerous times that it is one of the best in the State of Georgia, if not the nation. We still feel that way, but there are concerns.

Lately we have heard numerous rumors and innuendo about our pension. So we conducted some research. We started with the minutes of the Pension Board meetings posted at dekalbpension.com. Here are some of the more interesting notes that we read:
•"Total value at end of last quarter was $974 million." (Dec 15, 2011 Minutes) That value is down from $1.21 billion. (Sept. 1, 2011 Minutes)
•"Unfunded liability is $608 million." (Dec 15, 2011 Minutes)
•No value for the Pension Fund was given in the latest minutes, which was Feb 16, 2012.
•"40% of the portfolio was not doing well." (Feb 16, 2012 Minutes)
•"Plan was overfunded for many years and had a surplus." (Dec 15, 2011 Minutes)
•"Plan is in no financial duress." (Dec 15, 2011 Minutes)
•"Last 5 years, the pension fund ranked above median relative to other public funds." (Dec 15, 2011 Minutes)
•"Last year ranked in 87th percentile." (Dec 15, 2011 Minutes)
•For the Early Retirement plan of 2010, the County borrowed $12,549,128 to be amortized over 30 years. The annual payment is $1,115,482. (July 14, 2011 Minutes)
•841 positions were vacated by the Early Retirement plan, but the County refilled 600 of those positions. (July 14, 2011 Minutes)

There were several other items that were noticed from reading the minutes, but we should explain the makeup of the Pension Board. There are 7 people on the Pension Board. Five are voting members, and 2 are non-voting members. The voting members are:
Chief Executive Officer of DeKalb County
Two Members elected by the Board of Commissioners
Two members elected to a 4-year-term by the active participants of the Plan
One member elected to a 4-year-term by the retired participants of the Plan
One member that is appointed by the above six members

The non-voting members are:
Director of Finance of DeKalb County
Director of Human Resources & Merit System of DeKalb County

In the September 1, 2011 minutes we noticed a power play that has caused some concern, especially when taken into account some of the other statements that have been made at several meetings. According to the Sept 1, 2011 Minutes, Benita Ransom (Human Resource Director) wanted to know why she and the Finance Director were not voting members of the Board. Since she and the Finance Director are appointed by the CEO (Burrell Ellis) that would give him unprecedented power. The CEO and the BOC have 3 of the 7 votes absolutely loyal to the CEO and BOC. Three of the 7 votes answer to the participants of the Pension Plan. The 7th vote is the swing vote, and that person is appointed by the other six members, so who knows where their loyalty lies. If you add CEO appointees such as the Human Resource Director and the Finance Director as voting members, then the CEO and BOC have 5 of 9 votes loyal to them. This is an unacceptable situation for the participants of the pension fund.

In the March 31, 2011 minutes, it shows that Dr. Jabari Simama, Chief of Staff for CEO Burrell Ellis, wanted to know if he could vote in the CEO's absence. He was told that it had been determined in the past that no one can vote in the CEO's place. At least CEO Ellis has to actually be present to vote! Another power play thwarted.

There are several statements that are also a concern. In the May 5, 2011 minutes, it states that "Ed Wall stated that he believed that the Board of Commissioners is looking for a way to save money, and not have to contribute the $48 million this year to the Pension Fund." In the December 15, 2011 minutes, it states "Ed Wall stated that the plan's current assets combined with the employee and County contribution, the plan would not run out of money, unless the employees and the County failed to meet their required contributions." In the July 14, 2011 minutes there is talk of proposed changes to the pension plan. The biggest change proposed would be to take employees hired after Jan 1, 2012 and make them ineligible to participate in the defined benefit plan and have them in a defined contribution plan. That means they would not be contributing to our pension fund, but to their own individual pension fund. That would be a serious blow to the health of our pension fund! The December 15, 2011 minutes also states "For fiscal year 2012, the County will contribute $39 million; for fiscal year 2013 it will contribute $41 million." The AJC recently had an article saying that if the City of Brookhaven is approved, then the County will lose 15.1 million to 28.5 million dollars in tax revenue. We believe this gives the CEO and BOC incentive not to fund our pension fund. Combine that with the attempts to have controlling power on the Pension Board, and we have a situation where anytime the BOC wants some money due to the financial straits of the County, they can "raid" our pension fund. They will simply have the Pension Board vote to "loan" the County money whenever they are short of money. They have already been loaned money from the Pension Fund in the past. CEO Manuel Maloof used the funds for sidewalks and libraries. CEO Ellis used the funds for the Early Retirement Program. It would be unacceptable for the Pension Fund to turn into a "slush fund" for the CEO and BOC to use whenever they feel they need some money.

We also want to state that Robert Robertson has done a great job standing up for the retirees. While he is outnumbered on the Pension Board, he is a voice that speaks up and speaks often. He spoke out against the attempted power grab by the Human resources Director Benita Ransom (Sept 1, 2011 Minutes). In the July 14, 2011 meeting, he let it be known that "he was sick of the County commissioners' balancing the budget off the backs of the employees." We appreciate a person that speaks the truth when it needs to be spoken.

So what are we going to do about all this? Well, we could each be a small voice at the Pension Board Meetings, or we could unite so we will be a loud and united voice. To accomplish that, here is what we propose. If you are already a member of DeKalb FOP Lodge #10, that is great. We recommend that you get active in the Lodge. Attend the monthly meetings at the Lodge in Stone Mountain the second Tuesday of every month. Voice your concerns and let's unite for a louder voice at the Pension Board. If you are not a member of the FOP, it is possible for a retiree to join. For $65, you can join and get all of the benefits from the local lodge except for the life insurance. You will also have full benefits from the State Lodge and National Lodge.
We also need to recruit more active officers to the FOP. This is their pension fund too!

We will propose that the FOP have a Pension Watch Committee. We would like about 10 people on this committee, especially retirees. They would attend the Pension Board meetings and make comments to the Board if warranted. They will also report back to the FOP Lodge what happened at the Pension Board meetings. We think the Pension Board needs to be monitored and the full voice of the DeKalb FOP Lodge #10 heard at the meetings.

For FOP members and non-members, we invite you to the Open House "Chillin' and Grillin' at the FOP Lodge on Saturday, June 16th, 11am to 7pm. We would like to see you there! Feel free to talk about this and any other issues you have with the members of the Executive Board. Come on out and have a good time!


Sincerely Yours,

The Executive Board, DeKalb FOP Lodge #10"

Update On Sergeant Banks' Wife

Just Don't Get Any Prouder!

Dekalb Police Sergeant Fired!

"A police sergeant, indicted on charges of racketeering for allegedly ordering officers to beat teenage suspects, was fired Tuesday, according to the DeKalb County Police Department.
DeKalb County Police DeKalb Police Sgt. Anthony Remone Robinson was fired after he was indicted on a total of 15 counts, including aggravated assault, battery, violating oath as police officer, making false statements and racketeering.

Sgt. Anthony Remone Robinson was indicted on May 10, along with two other officers, on charges of aggravated assault, battery, violating his oath as police officer, making false statements and racketeering. In total, he is facing 15 felony charges.

The other officers, Blake Andrew Norwood and Arthur Parker III, had already resigned in lieu of termination months ago for allegedly beating a handcuffed Travarrius Williams. The 18-year-old victim suffered internal injuries and a broken tooth.

After that Nov. 15, 2011, incident, Norwood and Parker were charged with battery and violation of oath of office. They now face the same 15 charges that were in the indictment returned earlier in the month.

The DeKalb district attorney said the three were engaged in a criminal enterprise between Dec. 23, 2010, and Nov. 15, 2011, that involved handcuffing young burglary suspects and beating them.

DA Robert James said earlier this month the teenagers -- 15, 16 and 18 -- were handcuffed when Robinson ordered Norwood and Parker "to beat these young men with hands and feet.” James said.

The indictment said Robinson, Norwood and Parker “used excessive and unlawful force on multiple occasions … on persons who were not resisting and were in custody, posing no risk to … other officers or the public."

Williams also filed a lawsuit against two of the officers in March"

AJC Article

Open Comments

Even More Evidence Why Miller Should Resign

Wiz Miller says "I was extremely shocked when I heard we had this many officers coming under these kind of charges at the same time." Wait, isn't he the boss? You mean the storm was brewing and nobody warned Wiz Miller? B.S.!

He reeks of incompetence. He claims not to have known so many officers were under investigation, but he sure as hell knew when an aide was about to have her car searched for weed. Funny how that works.

"DeKalb County's top cops spoke out for the first time since the arrest of three officers for racketeering last week, saying they are reviewing policies and reminding all officers of the need for strong ethics on and off the job.

"Not only is this embarrassing to the department, it's embarrassing to the citizens of the county and the law enforcement profession," said DeKalb Police Chief William O'Brien.

O'Brien says he recently rolled out a new ethics program with reminders at roll call and staff meetings.

He sat down with Channel 2 investigative reporter Jodie Fleischer, as did Public Safety Director William "Wiz"Miller and DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis to discuss the recent arrests.

"We want a department that operates and upholds the trust the public puts in it. We've made it very clear that we don't tolerate wrongdoing," said Ellis.

On Thursday, a grand jury indicted officers Blake Norwood, Arthur Parker and Anthony Robinson for racketeering and other charges, stemming from the beatings of several handcuffed teenage burglary suspects.

"You can't be out here with these officers every day. Obviously we've got a number of them that have been making some extremely poor decisions," said O'Brien.

He says his department has done everything it can to stop officers from getting into trouble, including reviewing all complaints against officers. Internal affairs detectives forward any possible criminal activity to the criminal investigations division and then prosecutors.

"I think when you look at some of these and see that the results have ended in termination or folks resigning in lieu of termination, I think it's a proven system that shows it works," said O'Brien.

He points out it was fellow officers who turned in Norwood, Parker and Robinson. They are three of at least seven officers charged in the past year. In January, Officer Ghayth Abdul-Mughnee was arrested for theft and violating his oath.

In September, Gwinnett Police arrested Officer Clifton Casurra for battery and interfering with a 911 call. Last year a grand jury indicted Officer Jeremy Reynolds for rape, having sex with a person in custody and violating his oath.

Officer Donald Bristol pleaded guilty to charges related to helping others hide a stolen vehicle, and lying to federal agents.

"I was extremely shocked when I heard we had this many officers coming under these kind of charges at the same time. So yes, we will review our policies, we'll see if we need to do something different, but we want the public to know we take these things seriously," said Miller.

Three separate Channel 2 investigations also officers either cleared or lightly disciplined for cases now under criminal investigation.


Officer Tarik Crumpton is now on restricted duty for his actions while working off-duty at Dugan's sports bar last year. Crumpton allegedly attacked a man who said goodnight to a woman Crumpton was speaking with, slamming the man into a patrol car, then charging him with destruction of government property and obstruction.

Internal affairs issued Officer Crumpton a one-day suspension. Prosecutors are now investigating his actions and dismissed the charges against the victim earlier this year.


Internal affairs detectives found Officer Jerad Wheeler's use of force justified after he kicked a woman in the stomach while she was nearly nine months pregnant. He charged her with obstruction, which prosecutors dropped last week. Wheeler had two additional use of force complaints in the past nine months.

Internal affairs cleared him in both of those as well, including shooting a family's dog after responding to the wrong address, and twisting the arm of a grandmother after her daughter's traffic accident. The use of force in all three cases was not directed at anyone involved in the original police call.

Officer Eric Adkison resigned in lieu of termination after several investigations, including his role as president of the Frontrunnerz motorcycle club.

He's accused of hosting an unsanctioned hearing regarding a rape that occurred after a club function.

"We have a lot of officers who get it right the first time. We have a lot officers that need a little nudging and sometimes you have to give them a little kick in the pants to get them right. Then some need more severe disciplinary action. We try to make the appropriate call every single time and again, sometimes we don't get it right, we'll admit that," said Miller.

Miller says he recently shifted the command assignments within the police department to bring a fresh set of eyes to certain divisions and situations.

All but one of the seven arrested officers, have resigned, been fired or are in the firing process. Many of the others, are on restricted duty pending the outcome of their investigations.

Chief O'Brien says he has to be fair to officers because some complaints really are unfounded.

"We don't just terminate them based on an allegation, we have to thoroughly investigate it, let the facts play out and if warranted then we remove them from the department," said O'Brien.

He says if an officer is cleared by internal affairs but then criminally charged later, it doesn't necessarily mean something was covered up.

He says prosecutors can often get information out of officers and witnesses that detectives cannot. He says that was the case with Robinson, now accused of ordering subordinate officers to beat suspects.

"We interviewed him early on in the process, but didn't have enough information to proceed either criminally or administratively on him. The district attorney's office had the luxury of being able to work with Parker and Norwood and their attorneys to work out a deal which, in fact, led to information on the sergeant," said O'Brien.

The CEO says he still has full confidence in the police department and its officers.

"To the extent that we find out about these things in advance, I have the commitment from the police chief and the director of public safety that they're going to let me know about them immediately and they're going to report them to the authorities," Ellis said."

By Jodie Fleischer

Jaywalker On Memorial Drive Struck and Killed By Tucker Officer

A jaywalker made the fatal mistake of stepping in front of a moving police car last night. Our thoughts are with the officer knowing the wringer he is about to be pulled through.

AJC story here.

Officer's Wife Still In Critical Condition

A DeKalb County police officer's wife remained in critical condition Monday afternoon at Grady Memorial Hospital after being attacked early Sunday morning outside her home.

Investigators have determined that she was attacked during what appears to have been a robbery, police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said.

"Several of her personal items were taken," Parish said.

It is unclear, however, whether the woman, who is not being named by police, was targeted or was the victim of "a crime of opportunity," Parish said.

Police say she suffered several head injuries.

According to police reports, the woman went out Saturday evening with a friend.

She called her husband, DeKalb Police Sgt. Jerry Banks, to tell him she would be dropping a friend off and be on her way home, police said.

But Banks, his daughter and her boyfriend were all at home and heard nothing from the victim, according to police.

Around 3 a.m., the woman's daughter realized she had left the garage door open and went to close it, police said. The daughter saw her mother's car in the driveway and told her father, according to reports.

Banks told police he opened the door and noticed a trail of blood leading from the garage to the outside, and followed the trail until he found his wife lying in the yard.

No suspects have been identified, and investigators don't know how long the victim had been lying in front of the house. But the three people inside the home told police they didn't hear anything outside, and the woman the victim took home said she arrived there around 2 a.m.

Officers on the scene said that a white paint can with what appeared to have been blood inside was found inside the house near the kitchen door, according to police reports.

Article by AJC

DeKalb P.D. Recruitment Video

Wife Of DeKalb Officer Severely Beaten, In Critical Condition

DeKalb County authorities are investigating the beating of a woman who is the wife of a DeKalb County police officer.

The victim is in critical condition after an assault outside the couple's Lithonia home, according to Channel 2. Police told Channel 2 that the woman was badly beaten and left unconscious, just outside the couple's garage area.

Police said they do not know who assaulted the woman. But they did say the officer and his wife they lived in the home together.

Channel 2 was outside of the emergency room at Grady Memorial Hospital shortly after the woman arrived around 3:30 a.m. Several DeKalb County police officers were at the hospital and officers were posted near the emergency room.

Police told Channel 2 that the victim's husband was there at his wife's bedside. Authorities did not identify the victim nor her husband.

Article by AJC.

We Have Hit Bottom

It looks like we, as a police department, have hit rock bottom. Can it get any worse? Who do we blame this on? We blame it on the past and current C.E.O., Vernon Jones and Burrell Ellis.

Vernon Jones brought in the corrupt Terrell Bolton, who previously was fired for being corrupt while chief of police of Dallas Texas P.D. In an effort to win over public confidence and the confidence of the rank and file, saying he was going to beef up the police department, he demanded the standards for hiring be lowered to the level where convicted criminals could become sworn police officers. To ensure the standards were lowered, he used threats, intimidation and placed incompetent people in key places.

Burrell Ellis came on the scene with promises to clean up after Vernon Jones and Terrell Bolton. Knowing he was about to have a revolt on his hands, he fooled us all my naming one of our own as chief of police, Bill O'Brien, then promptly handcuffed him.

The incompetent Wiz (burn 'em if you got 'em) Miller was named Director of Public Safety to control Bill O'Brien. Burrell, thru Wiz, envisioned the police department to be nothing more then a jobs program for the unemployable rather then protecting the safety of the citizens of DeKalb and enforcing the law.

Now the citizens are reaping what has been sown. There is distrust within the ranks. There is distrust by the public. Once upon a time, law abiding citizens could trust us.

Travarrius Williams described us as a gang. It is rumored District Attorney Robert James described the police department as a criminal enterprise but when pressed, said he meant this case would fall under the RICO ACT.

We have to question our promotion process. How can persons like Anthony Robinson and Eric Adkison be promoted?

We are disgusted and ashamed.

DeKalb Police: A Criminal Enterprise. Stay Tuned

Retired Lieutenant Mike Baldwin Dies

Michael J. Baldwin of Decatur, died Friday May 4, 2012 of heart complications at the age of 70. He is survived by his wife Barbara, daughters and sons in law Cathi and Mike Stroud, Vicki Tuttle, Jacki Scarbary, Meredith and Thomas Clark, Cindi and Rob Bailey, ten grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, his sister and brother in law Betty and Bobby Beam and many nieces and nephews.

Mike proudly served time with the United States Air Force in the early 1960's and retired as a Lieutenant with the DeKalb County Police Department after 26 years. He was a lifetime member of North Clarendon Baptist Church and served as the music leader for over 15 years. If desired, donations may be made in his memory to North Clarendon Baptist Church, 260 North Clarendon Avenue, Avondale Estates, GA 30002

The funeral service officiated by Dr. D. Perry Ginn will be held at North Clarendon Baptist Church, 11:00 am, Tuesday, May 8, 2012. Interment will be at Georgia National Cemetery 11:30 am Wednesday, May 9, 2012. The family will receive friends 10:00 am -12:00 Noon and 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM, Monday, May 7, 2012 at A. S. Turner & Sons Funeral Home and Crematory.

Adkison Resigns

AJC story here.