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Request a DemoDon’t let the wag and bark fool you. Heavy drug trade and increased gang violence mean more K-9 forces on Georgia’s streets.
ATLANTA — Last month 12 new K-9 “officers” received their badges from the Department of Public Safety (DPS), joining their human handlers and fellow law enforcement officers in a ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion punctuated by barks and wags.
The new drug-sniffing, suspect-tracking dogs brought the K-9 unit ranks up to 37. DPS plans to expand to 51 canine officers in FY 2024, joining the Department of Natural Resources and other state law enforcement agencies in increasing their use of K-9 teams to help find evidence, run down suspects and rescue people in distress.
The heavy drug trade and growth in gang-related crime in Georgia are making the dogs’ particular sets of skills more valuable to law enforcement.
K-9s on the roads, and at the Capitol
The newly credentialed DPS K-9s include Rex, a stray German Shepherd plucked for service by First Lady Marty Kemp from dozens of rescue dogs she helped to find homes for last year. A few were given tryouts for K-9 service, but Rex was the only rescue dog who made the cut.
During the ceremony, Kemp praised Rex for his involvement in 14 felony arrests and the seizure of three firearms since completing training with his partner, Trooper First Class Gustabo Deanda Jr. four months ago.
DPS K-9 Unit Coordinator Lt. Chris Matthews, a veteran handler who trained Rex, said the dog had the qualities that he looks for in all potential canine crime fighters — a strong drive to hunt, tenacity, and obedience.
Some 80% of the dogs in the K-9 unit are mixed German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois breeds imported from Europe. They cost between $8,000 and $18,000 and are usually purchased from Georgia vendors who fine tune the rigorous training the dogs received abroad.
DPS dogs are trained for different law enforcement purposes. Currently, 16 single-purpose K-9s are employed for either drug or bomb detection. Twelve of those dogs were trained to identify five kinds of narcotics: cocaine, marijuana, heroin, ecstasy and methamphetamines. The other four were trained to find explosives, and can recognize 21 different odors for bombs and firearms.
Another 16 dual-purpose dogs have the added ability to track and apprehend fleeing suspects. These dogs, Matthews said, must have enough strength and aggressive instinct to hold onto an adult who may put up a fight until their handler can catch up to them.
K-9 Officer Figo was such a dog. Last October, the Belgian Malinois followed a command to leap through a broken window into the vehicle of a murder suspect engaged in a roadside standoff with state patrol officers.
The man shot and beat Figo in the head with a gun during the tussle, said Matthews. Officers opened fire, killing the suspect. Figo was rushed to an emergency vet, but succumbed to his injuries.
In 2022, DPS dogs were involved in 800 bomb sweeps by the Capitol Police and 83 cases involving illegal narcotics. The K-9s apprehended 86 suspects without biting, and 20 suspects with bites, called a “catch and hold.”
The work of all the K-9 teams at DPS last year led to 266 felony arrests, 150 misdemeanor arrests, the seizure of thousands of kilos of narcotic drugs, 38 firearms, and $3.4 million in currency.
Statistics for 2023 so far show that K-9 officers at DPS are being deployed more often, making almost as many felony arrests (245), and seizing significantly more meth, heroin, cocaine and firearms through mid-July than they did in all of 2022.
Drug and gang crime creating more work for K-9s
Matthews, a K-9 officer since 2007, said an uptick in drug- and gang-related crime in Atlanta and other metro areas over the past several years is driving the need for more K-9 teams. They’re increasingly called on to assist the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and other state and federal agencies in cases involving drugs, stolen cars and goods, and violent crime.
Last year 6,214 people were incarcerated for drug-related crimes in Georgia. About 60% of drug crimes involved methamphetamines.
DRUG-RELATED INCARCERATIONS IN GEORGIA, 2018 - 2022
YEAR INMATE ADMITTED | FOR ANY DRUG CRIME | FOR METHAMPHETAMINE CRIME | FOR COCAINE CRIME | FOR MARIJUANA CRIME |
2018 | 8,105 | 3,913 | 2,258 | 1,844 |
2019 | 8,912 | 4,548 | 2,231 | 2,013 |
2020 | 4,803 | 2,616 | 1,123 | 1,040 |
2021 | 5,953 | 3,598 | 1,274 | 1,176 |
2022 | 6,214 | 3,707 | 1,272 | 1,367 |
Meanwhile drug overdoses have been increasing in Georgia and nationally since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Georgia Department of Public Health reported that from 2019 to2021, the total number of opioid-related overdose deaths increased to 1,718 from 853, an increase of 101%. In 2021, there were 2,390 drug overdose deaths in Georgia; 71% were attributed to opioids and 57% were attributed to fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid. Non-fatal drug overdoses also increased. From 2019 to 2021, emergency department visits and hospitalizations for drug overdoses in Georgia rose to 27,388 from 24,886.
A typical K-9 deployment occurs when a DPS officer pulls someone over for a traffic violation. If the person seems overly nervous or suspicious, Matthews said, they’ll ask for consent to search the vehicle. Oftentimes suspects grant consent and they find illegal drugs and stolen goods. When they don’t, he said, the handler can direct the dog to sniff for drugs. If the dog detects a drug odor he’ll stop and signal its location.
Matthews recalled such a stop in Gwinnett with his former partner, K-9 Kayla, who detected 40 pounds of marijuana in a trunk, despite the drugs being vacuum-sealed inside hockey bags. “Marijuana has a very pungent smell, but we couldn’t smell it,” he said. “Her nose got us into the vehicle to be able to search it, and made it so that those drugs couldn’t continue on.”
K-9 partners filling the workforce gap
DPS spokesman Capt. Michael Burns said the K-9 teams are proving to help officers to be more effective. “A canine partner acts as a force multiplier and a loyal companion to our officers … and provides a safety net for them while on patrol,” Burns said.
That’s helpful at a time when the Georgia State Patrol is experiencing a serious workforce shortage, with close to 200 vacant positions.
MCCD Motor Carrier Officer 3 Micahiah Swain, 32, said his K-9 partner Ozon, a 6-year-old German short-haired Pointer, “always has my back. He’s always watching out for me.”
Swain said he’s very in tune with Ozon, and can tell when the dog smells the odor of narcotics by certain gestures. Ozon has found a good deal of cocaine, heroin and fentanyl hidden in compartments of tractor trailers. In 2021, Ozon found 50 kilos of cocaine in a trailer that turned out to be trafficked by a Mexican cartel. The case and the contraband were turned over to federal agents, he said.
Swain said while Ozon’s crime-stopping job can be tough and stressful, he gets pampered at his home, where he’s considered the family dog. His wife and kids love to snuggle and play fetch with Ozon, and visit with him in his “canine castle,” a 20- by 10-foot kennel that has an air-conditioned indoor area.
“The bond that me and Ozon have is strong. That’s my buddy, my partner. I’ll keep him until he retires, and for the rest of his life,” said Swain.
Most DPS K-9 officers serve for eight to 10 years before retiring, and go on to live with their handlers, said Matthews. Figo is the only DPS K-9 killed in the line of duty since the program began in the 1980s, he said. Common injuries have included broken teeth, muscle sprains, cuts and heat exhaustion.
K-9s in the wild … and in the city
The duties of the K-9 officers who work for the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Law Enforcement Division are to track suspects and people, find evidence, detect wildlife, and apprehend suspected criminals. DNR added another dog to its K-9 unit this year, and now has eight K-9 teams.
Common deployments for DNR K-9s involve finding evidence hidden by people hunting and fishing illegally. That includes people who kill or catch too many deer, doves, ducks, alligators or fish beyond the legal limit for the season.
Such lawbreakers often hide evidence of their crimes, and the K-9s are usually up for the challenge, said Sgt. Brooks Varnell, the K-9 Coordinator for DNR.
A few months ago, a convicted felon was hunting in the Oconee National Forest, and buried his rifle in the ground about 50 yards from his deer stand when he saw the game warden coming, said Varnell. Despite wearing full camouflage, the man insisted that he wasn’t hunting. Varnell’s K-9 partner Taz, a 7-year-old German Shepherd, made quick work of finding the buried rifle.
Many people hunt deer at night, sometimes shooting at them from their trucks on the road. “All highly illegal,” said Varnell, who often patrols woods and fields after midnight with Taz. He said Taz is adept at finding people hiding in the dark, as well as discarded guns, wildlife, clothing, and spent shells.
“They can find anything that has human odor on it, even from a hundred yards away,” he said.
In 2015, a coastal K-9 team caught a man trying to smuggle 84 loggerhead sea turtle eggs off of Sapelo Island. K-9 Titan sniffed out the man’s cooler before it left the ferry, Varnell said. Because sea turtles are a protected species, the man was later sentenced to 21 months in prison.
DNR K-9 teams also hunt for people who may be lost or in distress. K-9s have led numerous search-and-rescue efforts to find children and elderly people with dementia who wandered off into the woods. Varnell said he and his K-9 partners have also discovered meth labs and moonshine stills.
While they mostly handle misdemeanor violations, K-9 teams have been involved in numerous felony and death investigations at the behest of other agencies. Often the K-9 unit is called when a suspect has fled into the woods. Varnell said his former partner, K-9 Rock, found a gun used in a murder in Bartow County buried deep under a log.More recently, DNR K-9s have been deployed in metro Atlanta as part of the governor’s Crime Suppression Unit. Varnell said he and two of his K-9 handlers were providing security in the woods near the future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center in January when a protestor died after reportedly being shot by law enforcement. Varnell said the Georgia State Patrol officer who was shot during the incident is a K-9 handler whose canine partner was with him at the time.
Support from legislators and the governor
The FY 2023 budget for the Department of Public Safety K-9 unit is nearly $2.5 million. For Fiscal Year 2024, the General Assembly appropriated $515,000 to procure, train and support 10 additional K-9 officers for DPS. Gov. Brian Kemp and his wife have been avid supporters of the state’s K-9 forces.
Besides investing in more K-9s, the Legislature also enacted a new law to protect them. According to SB 155, known as Figo’s Law, anyone who knowingly harms a K-9 officer or other public safety animal, including search and rescue dogs, will face increased penalties, including jail time and fines. The bill, signed by Kemp, received strong bipartisan support.
Have comments or tips on public safety issues? Contact Jill Jordan Sieder on Twitter @journalistajill or at [email protected].
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Turnout battle: More Republicans casting ballots in early voting for general primary
The Gist
Whether they’re concerned with a Georgia Supreme Court race or women’s reproductive rights, voters showed up to cast early ballots this week in the Georgia primary election. And Republicans embraced the opportunity more than Democrats, continuing a trend in recent years.
“This isn’t Democratic voters becoming Republicans. This isn’t even a massive turnout of Republicans,” Atlanta political strategist Fred Hicks told State Affairs. “What it is is Democrats are disaffected and they’re staying home in key blocs, particularly African Americans.”
At Chastain Park Recreation Center, Atlanta attorney Stephen Mooney cast his vote with an eye on a Georgia Supreme Court race.
“I felt it was important to cast a vote. We have one candidate who’s putting his personal views over just calling balls and strikes. I want to make my voice known,” Mooney said.
Democratic U.S. Rep. John Barrow, who is running a campaign centered on protecting women’s reproductive rights, is challenging incumbent Justice Andrew Pinson.
Mooney, who identifies as Republican, said he typically votes early in elections. For the upcoming cycle, he said he’s concerned with crime, the economy and world affairs, including the conflict in Gaza.
Katherine Hernacki, who mostly votes Democrat, said she tries to cast ballots at every opportunity to make sure her registration didn’t expire and to preserve her vote.
“I would say that right now one of the biggest motivating factors for me is protecting women’s rights to reproductive freedom,” Hernacki, 50, told State Affairs.
She and Mooney both said current Georgia state officials have been doing well, specifically when it comes to the economy.
What’s Happening
As of Friday morning, according to GeorgiaVotes.com, 453,035 Georgians had cast early votes. Republicans outpaced Democrats, 242,140 to 203,305. There were 7,545 nonpartisan ballots cast.
The Secretary of State could not provide the party breakdown of primary election turnout for 2020 and 2022.
The total turnout for the 2024 primary is 36% lower than it was in 2022.
“This will be the fourth straight statewide election where Republicans have outpaced Democrats,” Hicks said.
More Republican voters turned out in the 2022 primary and general election as well as the presidential primary in March and now this one, said Hicks, who has worked on Democratic and Republican campaigns across the country for the past 20 years.
There was a little positive news for Democrats: The Georgia Secretary of State’s office said more Democrats — 15,008 — voted absentee than Republicans. Records show 14,835 Republicans cast mail-in ballots.
Why It Matters
Primaries historically have had low turnout, and this election cycle is no different. As of Friday morning, 6.4% of Georgia’s 7 million registered voters had cast ballots in person or by mail.
Ahead of the general election in November, primaries give voters an idea of who the candidates are. As campaigns continue, citizens get an early opportunity to form their political opinions.
What’s Next?
Friday, May 17, is the last day of early voting in Georgia’s primary election. Polls will reopen Tuesday, May 21, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The general election will happen Nov. 5.
Related stories:
Have questions, comments or tips? Contact Tammy Joyner on X @lvjoyner or at [email protected].
Contact Nava Rawls at [email protected].
New middle Georgia House district up for grabs due to influential incumbent’s departure
The Gist
For the first time in over a decade, voters in parts of middle Georgia’s Bibb and Houston counties will vote for a new state House representative.
House District 143 is a newly redrawn district that now extends from Macon to Warner Robins. That redistricting prompted the departure of longtime incumbent Rep. James Beverly, D-Macon. His term ends in January.
Democrat Anissa Jones and Republican Barbara Boyer are vying for Beverly’s seat. Both are uncontested in the primary.
The two appear on the May 21 primary ballots, but the primary is, in effect, a dress rehearsal for the Nov. 5 general election because neither has a primary opponent.
Jones is a chiropractor who has held numerous seats on civic and local government boards. Boyer is a retired attorney who now runs an antique shop. Georgia is an open primary state, meaning voters can choose the party ballot they wish to vote for.
What’s Happening
House Minority Leader Beverly announced in March he would not seek re-election, in part, because his district had been redrawn. A federal judge ordered state lawmakers to redo their electoral maps because they diluted Black voting power.
Before the remapping, House District 143 was largely Democrat, majority Black and consisted primarily of Macon County. The redrawn district now includes parts of Macon and extends 20 miles south to Warner Robins and remains majority Black.
Boyer, a political newcomer, said Republicans asked her to run because of her legal background. She sees the redistricting as good for middle Georgia.
“Macon and Warner Robins have always sort of been merged together in a lot of ways, and I just don’t see there’s a problem with it.”
The new House district, for example, now includes parts of nearby Houston County, which has “a pretty good school system,” Boyer said.
“I’m interested in how they run their school system compared to how Bibb County runs theirs,” she added. “Our [Macon-Bibb] district really needs a lot of help with their school system.”
If elected, Boyer said she would work to improve education, curb crime and bring more businesses to middle Georgia.
“I think I cross party lines pretty good,” she said. “I have a lot of Democratic friends and a very diverse group of friends. So I think I have a better chance of getting some Democrat and independent votes.”
Jones is a Macon native. She is the former vice chair of the Macon Water Authority Board, an alum of Leadership Macon and a past president of the Main Street Macon Board.
Jones did not return calls from State Affairs for comment.. Her top issues include public safety, economic development and more investment in infrastructure, according to her website.
Why It Matters
The winner of House District 143 will fill a vital seat that Beverly has held since 2011. He often advocated for legislation addressing health inequities, including a last-minute proposal by state Democratic leaders to expand Medicaid.
The Peach Care Plus Act would have let the state get a federal waiver to buy private health insurance for people who make around $20,000 a year. The measure failed. Beverly, a Macon optometrist, also pushed for legislation that would reduce maternal mortality among Black women.
He also led the Democrats’ effort to pass the Safe at Home Act, a bipartisan bill to protect tenants’ rights. The bipartisan bill requires rental properties to be “fit for human habitation.” Landlords must give three days’ notice and can’t shut off cooling before an eviction. Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill into law in April.
Beverly said his decision to leave was also based on the likelihood that Democrats will not win a majority in the 180-member House.
In addition to Beverly’s departure as House minority leader, the Senate also will lose its minority leader, Sen. Gloria Butler, D-Stone Mountain. She has served since 1999. The two are among 16 legislators who are retiring. Most of the 236-member Georgia General Assembly will be running for office, many unopposed.
What’s Next?
Early voters casting ballots in person have until Friday at 5 p.m. Poll officials, however, have the discretion to keep the polls open until 7 p.m., a Georgia Secretary of State official said. Polls will reopen Tuesday, primary election day, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Residents voting in Tuesday’s primary can check their precinct location here.
Boyer and Jones will face each other in the Nov. 5 general election. The winner will succeed Beverly, who will leave office in January.
Meet the House District 143 primary candidates
Barbara Boyer
Age: 68
Residence: Macon
Occupation: Retired attorney who now owns an antique store in Macon. “I love to stay busy.”
Party affiliation: Republican
Top issues: Improving education, attracting more businesses and addressing public safety, especially encroaching crime.
Campaign cash on hand: $600 as of May 7
Family: She and husband Wesley, a bankruptcy attorney, have a daughter and granddaughter
Dr. Anissa Jones
Residence: Macon
Occupation: Chiropractor
Party affiliation: Democrat
Top issues: Public safety, economic development, more investment infrastructure.
Campaign cash on hand: $30,679.92 as of May 6
Have questions, comments or tips? Contact Tammy Joyner on X @lvjoyner or at [email protected].
All you need to know heading into the May 21 primary
Gist
Georgia’s primary is only days away, and there’s a lot to unpack.
The May 21 primary will be the first time some Georgians will be voting in new districts for state and congressional candidates. They’ll also be voting in local races for sheriff, judges, school board or county commission members. Primary winners who have challengers will go on to compete in the Nov. 5 general election. Georgia is an open primary state, meaning voters can choose the party ballot they wish to vote for.
This year, Georgians who voted by absentee ballot in the primary could face challenges due to mail delivery delays.
What’s Happening
North Georgia and metro Atlanta are seeing significant mail delivery delays. The holdup, according to media reports, appears to be at the United States Postal Services’ new Regional Processing and Distribution Center in Palmetto. The problem has led to dangerous situations in which people are not getting critical medication.
Georgia’s U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff recently grilled USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on the delays. Ossoff told DeJoy during an April 16 hearing that on-time delivery rates were abysmal. He said 66% of outbound first-class mail had been delivered on time while 36% of inbound mail had been delivered on time in the past three months.
DeJoy blamed the problem on the difficulty in condensing operations at the facility.
With the approaching primary, state lawmakers are concerned mail delays could disrupt the election process.
Mike Hassinger, a spokesman for the Secretary of State, told State Affairs that Georgia voters are ready.
“Georgia voters are already registered,” he said. “They know how they like to vote. More than half of them vote early. About 5% vote absentee by mail, just in general, and then the rest are voting on election day. So we’ve been able to set up systems that are familiar with Georgia voters so that the percentage who might be worried about their absentee-by-mail ballots are relatively small.”
Why It Matters
Georgia emerged as one of the country’s most important political battleground states during the 2020 election. The Peach State will once again play a key role in deciding who wins the 2024 presidential election in November.
In the May 21 primary, Georgia voters will whittle down their choices for whom they’ll send to Congress and to the state capitol next year.
Under a federal court-approved redistricting process last year, Georgia now has new congressional and state district electoral maps. Those maps created one majority Black seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, five new majority-Black districts in the state House and two in the state Senate.
The redistricting resulted in new seats, intriguing matchups and former politicians returning to the fray. You can see the newly drawn maps here.
What’s Next?
Here’s what you need to know to ensure a smooth voting process:
To vote early.
Early voting is April 29 to May 17. Find your polling place here.
To vote absentee.
Here’s what you can do to avoid problems if you vote absentee:
- Get your absentee ballot application done early. You can request an absentee ballot here. (The registration deadline for the May 21 primary was April 22.)
- Track your application through Georgia BallotTrax. You must have a valid absentee request on file with your county board of elections to see your absentee ballot status in Georgia BallottTrax.
- If you’ve been having mail delays, place your completed absentee ballot in an official drop box during advanced voting instead of using the United States Postal Service. Check your county voter registration and election office for drop box locations. And, yes, your absentee ballot counts. It is counted in the final tally, not just close races.
- If you change your mind about voting absentee and decide to vote in person, take your absentee ballot to your local election office, where workers will void it.
- If you need to contact your county election office, find that information here.
Update: This story has been updated with the mail-in ballot registration deadline for the May 21 primary.
Have questions, comments or tips? Contact Tammy Joyner on X @lvjoyner or at [email protected].
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Education activist Beth Majeroni challenges state Sen. Ben Watson in GOP primary
The Gist In a rare primary challenge, incumbent Republican Sen. Ben Watson faces conservative education activist Beth Majeroni in the state Senate District 1 race in the Savannah area. Watson has run unopposed or handily defeated Democratic challengers in seven previous general elections and hasn’t faced a Republican challenger since 2010, when he won 65% …