what happens to a city when the law becomes an ene
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1/6/2013
I am a student at savannah college of art and design, I moved to savannah from charlotte, nc a few years ago to pursue my dreams and attend college. Growing up I was raised right, educated well, and attended church weekly. When my boyfriend and I came down to savannah to visit we fell in love with the beauty of the city and its closeness to the beach, the city truely inspired me, but in my worst nightmares I never imagined what was in store for us when we started living in this city. the first thing I noticed was the overwhelming amount of public housing throughout the city not to mention the shocking amount of inhabitants there that recieve welfare, foodstamps and other government aid. It seemed at first that more people here lived off of government assistance than their own hard earned dollars. The next thing I noticed was how high the crime rate was everyday there were murders and robberies of people, gas stations, grocery stores, houses, ect. I lived a block or so from the largest square/ park in savannah (forsyth) blocks away from the million dollar houses and I never felt safe walking down my street by myself or to class but I always assumed that those men and women brave enough to protect and serve in this city would do this for me . while we were living downtown we recieved a noise complaint, it was called in, when the police arrived I expected to recieve a ticket or a fine to pay but what happened when they arrived scared and shocked me and does to this day. upon exiting the house we both positioned ourselves on the front porch while we conversed with law enforcement officers my boyfriend (often fidgeting) clasped his hands together then loosley let them fall to his sides he picked up his back foot and eased himself against the wall at this point officers asked him where he was going, to answer he stood up straight again leaning forward he opened his mouth to say nowhere but right as the "no....." escaped his mouth I was forced to watch as three officers threw the love of my life down six stairs onto a brick sidewalk blood pouring out his mouth he tried to breath by lifting his face away from the ground I watched as they repeatedly slammed his head back down onto the bricks. his teeth went through his bottom and top lips, he also suffered a cuncussion from the blows they admistered as well as bruises covering his entire face. he was taken to jail without medical treatment and once incarcerated they continued to deny him treatment. he was held without bond for over a month over christmas and new years because he was too cuncussed to talk or respond to the judge in his innitial bond hearing. at the end of his ordeal he owed chatham county upwards of 2,000 dollars in court costs and the public defender. I thought all of this was some sort of misunderstanding until a few months later when I walked into a gas station to get a pack of ciggarettes when a bystander decided to alert an officer, she didnt think I should be driving. I was in fact completely sober but the officer refused to breathalize me despite my begging him to do so. so he detained me and told me that if I did not submit to a blood test that they would take my liscence for the rest of my life, I now know it is more like 6 mon. but he told me it would be forever, so obviously i submitted to one. he impounded my legally parked car and hauled me off to jail. when I showed up in court the DA was unprepared, they never produced my blood test results..... however they did convict me with absolutely zero evidence. the judge denied my lawyer a chance to defend me and the DA his right to prosecute me she changed a plea that had already been agreed upon. I walked out of the courtroom with upwards of 7,000 dollars in fines and 40 hours community service. the 18 year old african american that was called to the bench before me was charged with DUI, 2 counts child endangerment, open container, and possession of a firearm by a felon, as well as failing to signal; he walked out with 80 hours of community service. I can only assume that justice does not exist in this city anymore and that the county relies on SCAD students like myself, who came here with good intentions, to better myself, and to learn, to pay for their greed because I know for damn sure that they arent using it to repave the roads or fight crime in this city.
its an ugly government that profits off its people's pain
anna
james | Savannah, GA