Residents press committee on aggressive dogs, graffiti and urge diversion partnerships

During the public comment portion of the Jan. 12 meeting, four speakers addressed committee members on safety and community concerns.

Brother Anthony Muhammad described multiple encounters at an address on Terrell Road where he said aggressive, unleashed dogs attacked him and where prior calls to Fulton County and law enforcement produced inconsistent responses. He also raised concerns about perceived favoritism in housing enforcement and asked the council to intervene. Chair Boone asked Councilmember Wayne Martin to follow up with Fulton County, requested a site visit and suggested code enforcement and APD involvement.

Craig Galanos, representing an anti-graffiti nonprofit, urged the city to rewrite graffiti laws so perpetrators — not property owners — are required to remediate vandalism. He asserted three crews cause most vandalism and estimated roughly $1,000,000 in felony vandalism citywide. Galanos requested $150,000 to hold perpetrators financially accountable and $50,000 for equipment and monitoring and said he had submitted a draft ordinance for committee review.

Henri Jordan delivered a prayerful message invoking scripture and moral accountability. Moki Macias, executive director of Policing Alternatives and Diversion (PAD), introduced PAD staff, noted a Carter Center polling report was in the committee packet, invited councilmembers to visit PAD’s Mechanicsville office and described PAD’s role in community response and diversion partnerships.

Committee members thanked the speakers and asked staff to coordinate site visits, outreach and follow-up. No formal votes resulted directly from the public comments.