Showdown In DeKalb: Not Enough Police?

DeKalb County's new police chief, Terrell Bolton, is embroiled in his first, political battle with members of the county commission, as he fights to put more officers on the street to fight crime.

So far, it?s a draw.

Bolton told commissioners on Tuesday that the police force he inherited in January is so understaffed, he would have to hire nearly 900 sworn officers, nearly doubling the size of the department, just to bring the department?s staffing up to the national average of 2.7 officers per 1,000 residents.

The chief asked commissioners to let him hire 25 additional officers, for starters -- on top of the 25 they authorized him, last week, to hire.

?If you don?t approve those 25 positions,? Bolton told commissioners. ?You?re holding up community policing for DeKalb County.?

But Commissioners Elaine Boyer and Burrell Ellis weren?t buying it.

Ellis wondered why the chief was asking for the 25 additional officers when, according to Ellis?s calculations, the chief has yet to fill up to 140 vacancies on the force.

?We?re not trying to say no,? Ellis told Bolton. ?We?re just saying at this time, why not start with [hiring officers for] the funded and unfilled positions you currently have??

Bolton told reporters later that even after he fills all the vacancies, he?ll still need additional officers to meet the needs of a booming population.

?It doesn?t take a rocket scientist to figure it out," Bolton said after the meeting. "I?ve got half of a football team on the field. I need the others so we can move forward. Otherwise, we?re stuck -- they [Boyer and Ellis] are holding up community policing.?

Ellis insisted after the meeting that he?s not trying to defeat Bolton?s request.

?But we do need some specific details about his community oriented policing program,? Ellis said, which Bolton is planning to unveil this summer. ?We need to see, to some extent, what the results of the Grand Jury findings are going to be,? referring to the Special Grand Jury that is currently investigating last year?s controversially high number of shootings of criminal suspects by DeKalb County police officers, prior to Bolton becoming chief.

?And then once we have all that detailed information, we?ll be able to move forward,? Ellis said. ?We?re not micromanaging. Our job as the Board of Commissioners is to provide fiscal oversight. These are the taxpayers? dollars. And we?re the stewards of those dollars.?

DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones, who presides at commission meetings, and who hired Bolton in December, attacked Ellis and Boyer during Tuesday?s meeting for resisting Bolton?s request for more officers.

?Obviously, there are some, like Commissioners Boyer and Ellis,? Jones said, ?who don?t want to put more police officers on the street.?

Boyer shook her head and interjected that she is not against hiring more police officers.

After the meeting, Jones continued to attack Boyer and Ellis, saying they?re trying to fool the public into thinking they are fiscal conservatives.

?Commissioner Ellis and Commissioner Boyer are soft on crime,? Jones charged. ?They don't support the police department, they have been anti-police, he's running for [the office of CEO, since Jones cannot succeed himself after two terms], she's probably his campaign manager, is what I'm hearing. The public wants more officers on the streets. And if Commissioner Ellis wants to play footsies and wants to be anti police and not support this police department, I think he's dead wrong."

?This is not a time for name calling,? Ellis said. ?It?s a time for leadership. And the board wants to be fiscally responsible?. We're not saying no [to Bolton]. We've never said no, [and never said] that we won't add additional police officers. Quite frankly, an additional 25 is only going to make a dent. It's not even going to raise us one-tenth of one-percent towards where we need to be."

?Clearly there are not enough police officers on the streets of DeKalb County,? Jones said. ?We need more police officers on the streets. And Commissioner Ellis is standing in the door of more officers being placed on the streets. And he is anti police, and I am so disappointed in him?. We're going to fight until we get as many officers on the streets as possible. We need them. DeKalb County is growing, more and more people are coming here, more and more protection is needed.?

Commissioners estimate that 25 more officers would cost the county about $1.3 million a year.

Jones said he is going to call for a vote at the next commission meeting, March 27. He believes the issue may end up being postponed. But Jones said if the if the vote were held next week, most of the seven commissioners would vote for Bolton?s request for more officers, either five to two, or four to three.

"At some point in time, the debate has to end,? Bolton said, ?and the decision has to be made. And as the police chief, I'm saying, give me a vote, up or down."