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Woodstock Resident
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Judged:
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Here is the article on the AJC Cherokee section: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/cherok... Yes, I know that it is just an allegation and that not all the officers are like this but it is what it is. We have a real problem with the city police force. Where there is smoke, there is fire! Makes you wonder how safe we really are - when you have the law on your side and a badge on your chest, we can only hope that a sober sense of responsibility accompany that authority. What should be done? I think we need to see some transparency!
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woodstock resident 2
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The woodstock police are kinda scary. I've lived here 2 years and I've been pulled over 3 times. The last time was while I was riding my bicycle in my neighborhood! The officer said there had been some break ins. I also got a ticket in a speed trap a mile from my house and I got pulled over in the walmart parking lot by two cars. The officers asked me where the person in my backseat went? It was just me and my wife. I had no idea what they were talking about.
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Woodstock resident
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As an intern with the Woodstock Police for four months, I can safely say that they are a great group of police officers. I have no idea who these charges are against, but I wouldn't be surprised if they turn out to be false. They are all great officers, and they do a lot to make sure everyone is safe. Sure they will write you a ticket for speeding, but they are also there for you when you need them. Getting an insiders look into what they do really made me appreciate having them around. They are underpaid and work long hours, and the public generally hates them, yet they would take a bullet to try to save someone's life.
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Woodstock Resident
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But the problem is that they walk around with that attitude of "Everyone Hates Us" and it manifests itself in many areas. It becomes self fulfilling - the more they say it, the more they believe it and the more they behave like it. This naturally leads to contempt for the very people they are supposed to serve and protect. Why do you think it has gotten to this point? Sure, I would like to believe they are good people just like us just trying to earn a living. The difference is for some reason they chose a profession that requires a bullet proof vest and comes with a prefabricated reputation - and I shutter to say very few (if any) did it because of a burning call to civic duty. Unquestioned authority backed by a gun and the full strength of the government can be pretty intoxicating, and it shows in the way they deal with the public. As I sat in a local restaurant eating dinner with my family, I noticed my three kids looking at the dark clad giant walking by with a gun on his hip and a frown on his face. When I was a kid, the police were always ready to reach out for a hand shake and provide a smile to the family. Nowadays, that whole "They Hate Us" attitude manifests itself in a lost connection with the community and an arrogant march through a busy restaurant. Never a hello or a smile, just a city soldier going off to battle within hostile territory of their own creation. Perhaps taking a moment to drop a smile and a high five to the next generation would soften the friction but when you believe that everyone hates you, why bother?!? It scares me to think that our supposed protectors walk around with that kind of chip on their shoulders!
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Woodstock resident
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That is a very hypocritical statement. You treat all the police officers as if they act like that, yet that's not true. You don't know them. You probably don't even go out of your way to thank them. You have the same attitude that you claim they have. You think they are all militant arrogant jerks. There are a lot of officers who do a lot for the community, and they don't get any thanks for it. There are officers who still care about their community. If you knew anything about the Woodstock Police Department, then you would know they are a Community Oriented Police Department. But then again, you just stereotype the police and further fuel what my original comment was all about.....It's actually a natural phenomenon of police work. The public generally dislikes the police, and the police learn to distrust the general public. The new police chief, and the department as a whole is working to restore some of the ties with the community that have been lost. This is a difficult task when most of the public would rather spit on a cop than thank them for serving and protecting them. And I wouldn't say I have a biased opinion on this. I was a student at UGA, studied criminal justice, interned with a police department, and now I work somewhere completely different. I'm a normal citizen, who has seen first hand what police work is all about. The whole "They Hats Us" isn't something they have always felt about the public, it comes from the way everyone treats them. It's a positive feed-back loop. It is irresponsible to place all of the blame on the police officers, instead, it is up to the community as a whole to build a working relationship between the police and the general public.
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Woodstock Resident
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I strongly disagree with you. Why is it up to the community to build a working relationship with the Police?!? How does that make sense?!? Did you happen to notice that after you criticized me for lumping them all into the same category, you went on to finish your comment with the same generalization of we the community treating them badly?!? And by the way, what you describe as stereotyping police officers is no natural phenomenon (seriously, do you even know that that means). Your entire comment is laced with contradictions and furthermore, you end up proving my original point. MOST police officers have chips on their shoulders from their own doing! And where do you get this strange opinion that the public would rather SPIT on a cop than thank them for their service?!? And if there wasn't a problem to begin with, then why would the new chief and department feel the need to "restore lost ties with the community"? When you have a woman claiming rape at the very headquarters of the police department or in my circumstance, your family is nearly ran over in the Target parking lot by an overcharged and speeding WPD, you tend to loose a little trust for those who are supposed to represent all that is good and right. And once again, speaking for myself, when you ask the officer in the parking lot if he was aware that he came within inches of hurting my family - what does the caring, community officer say..."Mind your own business!" OK, lets talk to the chief of police, maybe he will provide reason and sanity to this experience - oh, wait a minute, he DOESN'T TAKE CALL from the public! I am very happy for your UGA criminal education and your great experience with the WPD but when you live in this community and watch a daily as the WPD give out tickets like candy from their triple tinted police cars, you begin to wonder if true love for the community motivates their actions. I live within walking distance of the station and have seen more arrogant, law defying behavior than I care to remember. How about you, how ofter are you in Woodstock? What did you end up doing with all that criminal justice education and police department internship? Forgive me for suggesting that objectivity on this matter may not be within your capabilities.
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“YULE! ”
Joined: Mar 8, 2008
Savannah Ga
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good lord i cant write that much but still never say never ya kno
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Woodstock resident
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Judged:
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You continue to amaze me. I lived in Woodstock for most of the last year....and I spent 8 hours a day riding around in a police car for 5 months...and I lived within walking distance to the station...and you accuse me of being ignorant to what the WPD is like. I know very well what they do...You know, when that officer was speeding through the Target parking lot, he was probably on his way to something serious....say someone got into a serious accident...or someone just got stabbed. But you just assume he is arrogant and does what he wants. My main point is that these police officers did not start off acting the way they do. Most new officers are just like everyone else. But police work has unusual stresses to it. And after a while, they change. This is partly to do with how the community treats them. There are a good number of citizens who show their appreciation for having the police around, but then there is the majority of people who cant stand the police. You are not the typical person that the police have to deal with. You are just the person who gets the occasional ticket. You have no idea what it is like to be a police officer. Did you even know that they have a traffic unit that gives out ticket, but the rest of the officers are 911 responders, and are not allowed to write tickets unless something serious happens. It's funny learning about this in class, and then seeing it first hand...and to have someone from the public express exactly what studies have shown the public thinks of the police....If a police officer treats you like you are stupid, it is probably because most of the people he deals with have acted so....They do get a chip on their shoulder....but they didn't start off with it...it comes with time. And if you get a speeding ticket in Woodstock...you must be going really fast. You are legally allowed to go up to 10 over the speed limit in the municipality of Woorstock....but whatever...I guess the cops are just jerks, and it's all their fault. I mean...they aren't just doing their jobs...and it isn't dangerous or stressful or anything.
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Woodstock resident
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Oh...one more thing. I said it was "up to the community as a whole to to build a working relationship between the police and the general public." For your information...the community includes the police....I am saying that it is EVERYONE in the COMMUNITY'S fault. It is not just the public, and it isn't just the police. It is the attitude that the police AND the PUBLIC keep and maintain. The chief is making efforts to make the police more connected to the community. The police officers walk around while businesses open and close...which makes the business owners feel safer...because that is when they are most likely to be robbed. They also do the same for banks. They also have foot patrols through downtown and some of the business districts to help get the officers face to face with the public. Most of the police officers are really friendly..once they open up to you. They also have a community relations department with officers who go to schools, and take kids shopping at christmas time. It isn't YOUR fault, and it isn't just THEIR fault....its the community as a whole. And one more thing....their windows are not super tinted. Only the detectives have tinted windows...and the k-9 units. The standard police officers windows are perfectly clear. Forgive me for not contradicting myself... I prefer facts and reason over assumptions and emotions.
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Woodstock Resident
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Judged:
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OK, Since you insist on arguing these "facts", I will clear up some confusion. I have lived in the city of Woodstock for 9 years (5 of those within walking distance of the police station). First, the speeding officer was flying over to the Make-Up store in the corner of the shopping center where his partner (who had turned off his radio) was chatting it up with the three female employees in front of the store. No stabbings, or gunshots or even a shoplifting teenager anywhere around. How do I know this? I followed him there and asked the questions! No Assumptions - just facts. Secondly, you consistently seem to want to blame the community for turning these usually normal men (and women) into gun carrying authority figures gone wild! Where is the responsibility in that? What am I doing on a daily basis as I go about my business that is having the adverse affect on these officers? Does my 33 in the 25 mph downtown drive them into a fit of rage and self-loathing enough to run over citizens in a crowded parking lot?!? Third, we may be legally able to drive 10mph over the speed limit but when has that ever stood up in court?!? Furthermore, you can see the ticket I got on 92 back in 1998 when I was supposedly going 44 in a 35mph zone. When I asked to see the radar, I was told I had no right and to fight it in court. And even then, if you even dare contest the opinion of one of these officers in court, the judge is just waiting for you to roll the dice and go for jail! I refuse to accept any responsibility for the chip on any police officers shoulder. Just because I am not one of them, I am automatically the producer of the chip?!? That makes no sense and only a great amount of immaturity would produce so black & white a view of the world. There is a real, complicated relational problem with the way the WPD sees this community and the filter they use to decipher their experiences with the rest of us. You have done nothing to refute it, in fact, you have repeated it over and over while trying to say that I am just as much a part of it as they are. What's with that? Pardon my high expectations but when one chooses to put on the uniform of a police officer, is it to much to ask for civility and a lack of attitude? I certainly did not tell him to choose that career path with all its stresses and risks so why am I forced to swallow the crappy attitude I (we) are being fed?!? I would like to hear again what I am doing to create the chips on our PD shoulders! Maybe it's all this accountability I am asking for!
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Woodstock resident
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For one, it is legal to drive up to 10 over the speed limit (except in school zones, and anyhere where the WPD doesn't have jurisdiction like the highway). I know this for a fact. Every police officer has different standards for how fast is too fast over that. And it isn't the police officers who randomly decided to crack down on the speeding down mainstreet. It was a Mayor's wife who decided people were driving too fast downtowm. And I am not blaming you for how any police officer acts. They go into the profession to try to make a difference...well...a lot of them do. But you have to understand why some of them act the way you do. They aren't animals, they are normal people doing their job. You are getting so offended like I am saying it is your fault for how they act. I have acknowledged that they act the way you claim, but I am also pointing out how they are treated. And if a police officer was speeding through the parking lot because the other officers radio was off, this is standard procedure. They don't have GPS units or computers to keep track of where their buddies are, the only way they know where others are is by the radio. They are constantly checking in over the radio, so if one officer isn't checking in, and he/she doesn't respond after several attempts, the first thought it that the officer is in trouble, and other police officer go immediately to their last call out point. You, my friend, are a citizen with a chip on your shoulder looking for ways to get mad at the police. There are reasons for the things they do, and there are reasons they act the way they do. But until you can understand what exactly it is like to be a police officer, you cannot criticize their work. They aren't watching you at work and judging your quality of work. They have a dangerous and stressful job, all while being under the public's watch. If you could at all understand what they are going through, you might understand why things are the way they are. How would you act at work if you never knew if someone was going to shoot you. You need to give them a break. Not all officers are how you depict them, you just project this stereotype that you have on all of them. I bet you have filed many complaints against the police since you have lived in Woodstock. They do take complaints, and they do work up strategies to help reduce them. This problem isn't just isolated to Woodstock. This is something that happens with most police departments. And there are lots of people who study all of this.
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Woodstock Resident
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I didn't even finish reading your blurb because I am frankly growing weary of the echo in your statements. No insult intended but I cannot buy what you are selling with this whole behavior is a result of treatment thing. It lacks a level of responsibility that we all should own - We shall agree to disagree. Catch you in the next online debate or have a nice life...
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Woodstock resident
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I wouldn't really call this a debate. I was trying to point out some of the reasons for why things are the way they are. There are a lot of scholars, psychologists, and sociologists who have studied the criminal justice system (and they must submit to scholarly review by their peers), and I was trying to highlight some of the things that I have learned, both academically, and first hand. But if you do not think that the way people are treated changes them, then I am glad this "discussion" is over. Your ignorance shows, and no offense, but I kind of expect this from someone who has lived in Woodstock for as long as you. See, I just made a generalization about people in Woodstock....I guess because there is a stereotype that the people in Woodstock are red necks and uneducated (and I have some occasions to back up this claim), then it must be true.
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Woodstock Resident
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Jeez, you really need some help. Walking around with that type of an attitude towards people you have never even met - you should be a cop. And here I almost developed (begrudgingly) a certain level of respect for you. Although we do not agree, I can accept your strongly held opinion as your right - but then you go and say something as stupid as you did in your last post. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?
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Woodstock resident
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I was simply making a point....but I forgot who I was talking to. You refer to this as my opinion? That's a joke. I was trying to provide some academic information on the topic. I could give you tons of sources to look at dealing with the police and their relationship with the public. What are you basing your arguments on?...Your opinion on the situation. I highly doubt you have any education on the matter whatsoever. I guess the few bad things you have seen regarding the police makes them all bad people who lack responsibility and civility. I have seen a lot of red necks in Woodstock, and Woodstock has a reputation to be just that, but that DOES NOT mean every person in Woodstock is a redneck or uneducated. Just like how every police officer is not how you envision them. I'm not saying it is alright for an officer to be an ass to anyone. I'm just saying that they have an unusual job with unusual stresses that can take a toll on them. I personally know almost every member of the WPD, and I can say there are a lot of great guys working there. If you are ever in a situation where you need help, they will be there for you, and they would take a bullet to try and save your life. I can't think of one road officer who isn't a nice guy outside of work. I did notice that some of them do not really like to deal with the public, but they aren't always like that. And they get asked millions of stupid questions all the time. A lot of them are nice guys, but the stress of the job can cause them to act negatively around people such as yourself. Just try to imagine what it would be like to be a police officer. Most of the people they deal with are involved with drugs, gangs, and other dangerous stuff. So try to give them a little break. You can let their supervisors know if they are abusing their power. You can even ask an officer why they do things certain ways. When that officer was speeding through the parking lot, it was because he thought his body might be injured. It WAS a big deal, and it is how they operate. Granted they shouldn't give you an attitude about it, but it happens. No one likes the police, except when they need them. I used to feel the same way. I thought they just like harassing people. Some might, but most of them are just doing their jobs.
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Woodstock resident
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I saw the police help talk someone out of suicide, help a man having a heart attack, do a welfare check on an elderly man who lived alone, arrest a drug dealer/gang member, teach the elderly about financial and personal safety, take kids to buy Christmas presents, mentor troubled kids at a school, aid stranded motorists, extensively search for a murderer, and investigate and arrest a child molester. These things go unoticed by most of the public though. There are a lot of locals who the police know by name. You wouldn't believe what kind of crazy things they have to do. Chase a burglar through the woods at night, file police reports for everything, chase after hit and run suspects, arrest disorderly drunks/drug addicts, investigate rapes, stabbings, suicides, wrestle body builders hopped up on LSD and other crazy drugs. It isn't as easy as going around giving kids hand shakes all the time.
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Woodstock Resident
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Same song, different verse. Come back when you have something original and less insulting to say!
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Woodstock resident
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I've seen police flying down hwy 92 so I carefully followed them. They turned off their flashers when turning into the goodwill parking lot and then just parked. Seems like nothing was going on at all. Just in a hurry to park - go figure.
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Woodstock resident
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Not all of the time, but sometimes they will run code (with their flashers on) to back someone up, only to get called off half way there. Thus freeing them up to browse through goodwill. Either that or there was a 911 call from Goodwill and they were trying to approach the building stealthily. I can't see why they would be in a hurry to get to good will otherwise. They have supervisors driving around the city, so they usually wouldn't turn their sirens on unless there is a reason to. They can only use their lights and sirens for certain emergencies. Not to say some don't abuse their power....I only saw this happen a couple times, but this was usually only at odd hours like 4 in the morning. Though it is dangerous to run code. It's like playing grand theft auto when you are flying through small city streets...
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McLane
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I am the "Victum" of the rape that took place at the Woodstock City Police Department by Officer Sgt.Heath Johnston Badge # 1495, This happened to me, and is not just an alligation. I have been interigated/interviewed by the GBI on more than several ocassions, and spoken with Polygraph experts. My alligation ring trueto those in charge, and they continue to tell me that "Yes, we believe something did happen to you,since there are 15 minutes which we relaize you were unaccounted for in a station with a considerable amount of audio and video equipment". Furthermore, Sgt. Heath Johnston has on numerous ocassion refused to take a polygraph test,and has now QUIT HIS JOB. I believe Mr. Johnston was being pressured to take a polygraph test to clear these alligations and instead of clearing his name he has now left his position in law enforcement. How many poeple would consider this a guilty man. I am asking if there are any other women who would like come forward if this office has done something similar or the same. I am also requesting the Gary Moss the Districy Attorney of Canton, Georgia file criminal rape charges against this man, since he has now gone missing. How many poeple feel the same? I have lived in fear since the day this took place, hiding in my home, and now I live in terrior knowing this undercover detective is missing!!!!!!
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