For Mattie Mitchell, the frightening sounds of gunfire have become an all too common occurrence in her block, and the Augusta native has had enough.
Her resolution: Open a police substation at Old Savannah Road and Daniel Street next door to Green Grove Missionary Baptist Church.
To critics who suggest that she simply move from her Twiggs Street home to escape her dangerous surroundings, the 49-year-old mother quips, "Why should I have to move? This is our home. My grandfather built this house and I don't feel we should be forced to leave."
Her suggestion that a Richmond County Sheriff's Office substation be located in her neighborhood has support from her neighbors and the Rev. Lessel Leonard, the pastor of Green Grove, where a drive-by shooting happened last Easter weekend.
"We were having an Easter egg hunt and had to take the children inside the sanctuary when a man started shooting outside the church," said the Rev. Leonard, a 23-year pastor of the church.
"We need the substation," he said. "There's just too much going on around there, every day," he said, alluding to what appear to be drug deals and other criminal activity near the church.
The same Saturday as the Easter shooting near the church, Ms. Mitchell almost suffered a tragedy when her only son, Johann Tyre Mitchell, 25, was pulled from the family's work truck, shot in the stomach and left for dead in the same neighborhood.
Mr. Mitchell now is recuperating at home.
He must wear a colostomy bag. He is physically and emotionally scarred from the shooting and is supporting his mother's quest to get more police help.
"It really would make a difference around here," said Mr. Mitchell, who remains uncertain about why he was shot.
Police continue to investigate the shooting.
"I was cutting grass in the evenings, trying to make a little money while keeping the area clean," said the 1997 Lucy C. Laney High School graduate and former Savannah State University student.
It's time to take their plight to city hall, said Ms. Mitchell, who plans to address the Augusta Commission in coming weeks to explain the need for a substation.
If approved by the city and law enforcement officials, the substation would be in a visible section of her neighborhood, next door to the Rev. Leonard's church in the 1600 block of Old Savannah Road.
Ms. Mitchell also wants to quell what she calls the rising tide of gang activity in her once-proud neighborhood in the historic Bethlehem community.
"I don't care what anybody says. There are gangs in Augusta," said Ms. Mitchell, a community activist and Augusta Housing Authority board member.
"Any time you have young men dressing alike, wearing hoods and shooting people, that's a gang," she said, referring to the description of her son's attackers.
Richmond County sheriff's officials are open to the idea of a new substation but would need community support to make it happen, they say.
Sheriff's Maj. Kenneth Autry said substations are "advantageous ... due to the presence of the deputies coming and going. It deters crime," he said.
Sheriff's Maj. Richard Weaver assesses community needs to justify a substation's existence.
The sponsoring group, he said, would be responsible for costs related to maintaining the facility, including telephone service and all other utilities.
"If they invite us in, they take care of those (daily) costs," said Maj. Weaver, adding that he plans to meet with Ms. Mitchell to discuss substation possibilities and requirements that would need to be met.
"It's a 24-hour, seven-day commitment," he said.
Ms. Mitchell has support from one city official who agrees a substation would have a positive affect in curbing crime.
Augusta Commissioner Marion Williams, who leads the city's public safety committee, said a substation would work, but police can't do it alone.
"Any presence will help, but the community needs to support the sheriff's department," he said. "You have people hiding behind overgrown shrubbery (doing crimes), and this makes the deputies' jobs difficult."
Addie Powell, 83, also lives on Twiggs Street and isn't ready to give up on her cherished neighborhood.
"We need the substation. We don't get any police protection here and we hear shootings all the time," said the Paine College graduate and retiree of the Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library System.
She's adamant that more police presence will offer security for herself and other senior citizens living along thoroughfares affected by instability, such as Maple, Daniel and Mill streets; Brayton Lane; and Picquet Avenue.
The Rev. Leonard said he also has no plans to relocate, especially since his congregation committed 11 years ago to build their church, which cost nearly $1 million.
"We have to make it safe for people," he said, adding that the church's long-term plans include constructing new recreation and day care centers.
Mrs. Powell has worked for years to preserve the history of the Bethlehem community.
But she sees a more urgent need now - to preserve safety.
"We want to be sure we have protection, she said. "After someone has been shot dead, that's too late."
Reach Timothy Cox at (706) 823-3217 or tim.cox@augustachronicle.com.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Back
