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Public commenters urge action on jail deaths, tent safety, developer preference and a Fulton County policing complaint
Summary
Speakers during public comment raised a mix of concerns: an alleged unlawful police entry in Fulton County with a solicitor‑general response requested; repeated deaths at the Fulton County Jail and calls to revisit the county lease; attacks on tents and concern for unhoused residents; and accusations of preferential funding to some nonprofits.
Several members of the public used the committee’s public‑comment period to raise concerns about police conduct in Fulton County, conditions and deaths at the Fulton County Jail, threats and vandalism of homeless encampments, and perceived favoritism in housing funding.
Kaye Marie Presley said she was the victim of an incident in March 2024 in Fulton County in which she alleged an officer entered her son’s home with a loaded gun, did not identify himself and asked her to step outside. Presley said she took the matter to the Fulton County solicitor general’s office and that Deputy Director Lamar Rhodes dismissed the case; she provided the case number Case24CR006970H and said she had sent materials to the U.S. Justice Department requesting investigation.
Walter Reeves, identifying himself as a workers representative, updated the committee on courtroom staffing and presented a broad proposal on municipal pension security in the event of a federal debt default. He urged contract planning to protect retired municipal employees in an insolvency scenario.
Devin Franklin, senior movement policy counsel at the Southern Center for Human Rights, criticized the 2022 lease that allowed Fulton County to use the Atlanta City Detention Center, pointed to more than 30 deaths in Fulton custody since the lease and said the Department of Justice’s investigation produced a consent decree with remedial measures. Franklin said community participants in town halls prioritized addressing use‑of‑force issues and that Fulton County must go beyond minimum remedies.
Matthew Nursi of the Housing Justice League urged the council to protect the safety of unhoused residents after a widely circulated video showed a person damaging tents on Old Weed Street. He also raised concerns about an Office of Inspector General letter that he said described firefighters who rely on housing relief programs but are not paid livable wages and alleged that some nonprofit partners and developers (including Partners for Home and a development called Forest Cove) receive preferential treatment in funding.
Committee members acknowledged the public comments, noted criminal charges had been filed in the tent‑vandalism case, and said staff and law enforcement would follow up where appropriate. The committee did not take formal action on any of the public comments at the meeting.
