AJC: Atlanta councilman Mitchell carjacked at gunpoint
Let me be clear - I WISH THIS ON NO ONE!
If it is going to happen I can think of no other people for this mayhem to happen to than the people who ultimately have control over the POLICIES that are in place in this - one of the most violent cities in America. The denials of such a categorization by the current mayor in the spirit of defensiveness does nothing to force the pirates to act in line with the impressions of it being a "safe city" that the leadership wishes to put forth.
There is not a problem with guns. There is a problem with pirates use of guns.
While no doubt these pirates need jobs - their present state is little more than the residual effects of at least two decades worth of bad decisions by the adults that have the strongest imprint in these young male's lives.
Atlanta city Councilman and Public Safety Committee Chair Ceasar Mitchell was carjacked at gunpoint early Sunday morning, police said, marking the second time in three months that an Atlanta city council member has been robbed.
The incident occurred about 2 a.m. Sunday in the 1000 block of Lena Street in northwest Atlanta, said Atlanta police Sgt. Lisa Keyes.
Mitchell’s vehicle was later recovered about 4 a.m. on the 1400 block of Joseph E. Boone Blvd.
Mitchell was not injured during the ordeal.
Just two months ago, Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders’ town home in the Centennial Place complex was burglarized in May by suspects who kicked in a glass door while Borders slept upstairs.
Both Mitchell and Borders are campaigning in the midst of an election season where crime is a hot-button issue — Mitchell is running for council president and Borders is running for mayor.
A recent shift in public perception of city crime has made public safety one of the biggest campaign issues of this election, said Harvey Newman, chair of Georgia State University’s Department of Public Management and Policy.
The unions representing Atlanta’s firefighters and police officers last Thursday held a debate with four of the leading mayoral candidates during which the men and women spoke on public safety.
Borders, who has declared herself the “poster child of crime” after seeing break-ins of both of her Atlanta homes during the past year, has focused on police officer retention, saying she wants to work on a housing program that allows more cops to become homeowners in the city.
Councilwoman Mary Norwood has come up with a 12-point public safety plan calls for increasing Atlanta’s police force by 10 percent, which currently equates to about 165 officers, and put more cops on patrol.
State Sen. Kasim Reed wants to add 750 officers to force and earlier this year proposed a referendum that would allow voters the option of raising their taxes to pay for more officers and firefighters.
Candidate Jesse Spikes, a partner at the law firm McKenna, Long & Aldridge, says he wants to improve the city’s finances to help pay for public safety improvements.
Last year, Mitchell, the son of an Atlanta police officer, made a push for an expanded foot patrol program for new Police Academy graduates in Atlanta’s two highest crime zones.
High-profile cases such as Borders’ burglary and Mitchell’s carjacking may enhance public perception of the lack of public safety, Newman said, contributing even more to the issue’s importance in this election.
Because Borders and Mitchell have themselves been victims of property crimes, they now have firsthand experience of the issue that they may be able to use in their campaigns, Newman said
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