Fulton County Sheriff Showdown

By John Fredericks and Jonathan Copsey / STAFF

 

Freeman

Two Democrats who couldn’t be more different are vying for the right to run in the general election for the County’s top law enforcement job. Call it the great sheriff showdown at the Fulton County jailhouse.

One is a buttoned down, squeaky clean former FBI Field Agent who tracked mob bosses and professional hit men in Cleveland for three decades. He’s the outsider, from North Fulton County, and he’s got a bead on the Fulton County Sheriff’s job.

His name is Ted Jackson.

The other is the Democrat incumbent, the insider, from downtown Atlanta. He’s got legal issues to contend with, a courthouse shooting that occurred on his watch and accusations of mismanagement from within his administration to grapple with. The Georgia State Legislature, frustrated over the failures in his department, has threatened to take the Sheriff’s office duties private if he can’t get his act together. He has survived a recall effort, his deputies have been caught shredding documents, and now he faces contempt of court charges from a federal judge.

Osteen

He has been vilified in the Atlanta press and he is hanging on to his job by a mere thread.

His name is Myron Freeman.

So guess who is favored to win the August 5 Democrat Sheriff primary?

Why, Freeman, of course. Welcome to Atlanta’s inside-the-perimeter politics.

Jackson

Freeman Under Fire
The Democrat sheriff's race has been a burning topic due to the fact Freeman has been dogged by a disastrous first four years. Although the winner of the August 5 run-off between Jackson and Freeman will face Republican challenger Mike Rary in November, most political prognosticators expect an easy Democrat win with Senator Obama on the ballot in Fulton County. That raises the stakes for the run-off. Any registered voter can participate in the August 5 election except those who voted in the July 15 GOP primary.

Freeman’s troubles began with the Brian Nichols catastrophe. Nichols got loose from a female deputy and shot a judge, a court reporter and a deputy in the very courthouse the sheriff is responsible to secure.

Freeman’s subordinates were caught red-handed by a jailhouse auditor shredding documents the day before he was scheduled to appear before a federal judge regarding the condition of the Fulton County jail in 2005.

What Does the Sheriff Do, Anyway? The office of Fulton County Sheriff is responsible for four primary things: 1.    Provide safety and security in the County Courthouse 2.    Run the Fulton County Jail system 3.    Serve legal papers 4.    Issue arrest warrants, pick up the accused and take them to the downtown jail for arraignment

Prior to getting elected sheriff in 2004, Freeman had a history of successful service in law enforcement. Born in Atlanta, Freeman graduated from Atlanta's Luther Judson Price High School and served in the United States Army. He joined the Georgia State Patrol in 1972. He was assigned to the governor's mansion, becoming the first African American to work the executive security detail. He was later promoted to corporal under then Governor Jimmy Carter.

Williams

His political strength primarily comes from his ties to the Atlanta Democrat machine controlled by U.S. Representative and long time civil rights activist John Lewis (D). He also has solid support from the inner city churches and mission groups. His biggest asset is that his supporters vote. And in a County run-off election in the heat of the Atlanta summer, a few votes can go a very long way.

Freeman won the July 15 Democrat primary with 30 percent of the vote.

Freeman declined to be interviewed by this newspaper and has not returned calls.

No Teddy Bear
Challenger Ted Jackson stunned candidates Frank Brown, Aubrey Osteen and Charles Rambo by grabbing 17 percent of the July 15 vote and securing himself a second place finish and a spot in the run-off. And he did not even join the race until May. Most of the other challengers were campaigning for nearly a year.

George

Although unassuming and soft-spoken, Jackson, like Freeman, is a Vietnam Veteran. Also like Freeman, he served in the FBI. The primary difference is Jackson was on the organized crime brigade in Cleveland, not exactly a cushy desk job. He tailed renowned mid-west mob boss John Scalish for better than a decade. Scalish was the longest reigning and most notorious Cleveland Mafia kingpin. He took control of the Cleveland crime family in 1944 and remained in control until his death in 1976. Jackson was responsible for the arrest of countless Scalish cohorts, including mass murderer and hit man Mark Batcho, whom Jackson personally apprehended during an FBI sting at his suburban Ohio home.

He was one of the last FBI agents actually hired by J. Edgar Hoover.

Jackson was interim Fulton County Sheriff for the months leading up to Freeman’s election to the post, so he knows his way around the jailhouse.

How is North Fulton Affected?
Local residents are affected by the County Sheriff’s office when warrants get backed up and criminals go free. Currently, the County Sheriff’s Department has a backlog of over 5,800 Fulton County arrest warrants. That means an assailant can be arrested for a crime in Alpharetta, Roswell, Milton or John’s Creek by local authorities, spend a few days in the city’s holding cell, get shipped to Fulton County Jail, post bond the next day, get released, miss their court date and come back to North Fulton to commit another crime. Their bench warrant may take up to a year to get to the top of the list. Call it the revolving crime door.

Lagerbloom

The Race
Jackson said, “We need to get all the local police chiefs involved, round up these thugs with outstanding warrants and get them off our local streets and back in jail until they appear before a judge.” He commented, “If we can be proactive, and let our police chiefs know when one of these criminals from their area posts bond, local law enforcement can be on the look-out. We need to take a much more pro-active approach to crime prevention.”

“We have a broken sheriff’s department in Fulton County,” Jackson summarized. “I can fix it.”

Jackson reiterated that, “70 percent of the voters on July 15 cast their ballot against Freeman. They voted for change. I am poised to get those votes on August 5. The biggest thing Freeman has going for him is the “I” next to his name. It stands for ‘incumbent.’ Based on his record, a more fitting term might be ‘incompetent.’”

Jackson added, “I offer real, proven leadership. I will not play politics. I am the straight shooter in this contest. We just can’t afford four more years of poor leadership.”

Jackson Gets Key Local Endorsement
Alpharetta resident and former candidate Aubrey Osteen garnered 7 percent of the votes cast in last week’s primary election. Osteen carried Alpharetta but got drubbed by Jackson in Roswell. Osteen, a former actor, summed up the race this way, “Nobody voted. Not enough people voted. Nobody got a lot of votes. That just tells me people were just not interested in the race. Now more than ever, they need to be.”

“We have new challenges and we need to meet a common goal and come together [as a team],” Osteen continued. “I’m going to endorse Ted Jackson. I met with him today for two hours and I am endorsing him and supporting him. It’s come to the time that we have got to get the cloud of corruption out of the sheriff’s department.”

Osteen promised, “I’m going to be very vocal about it.”  

Local Police Chiefs Defend Freeman
Roswell police chief Ed Williams said, “As there is an active campaign going on right now I am not going to get on one side or the other on that. I’ve always had cooperation with the County sheriff’s department and I expect that to continue regardless of the outcome.”

Alpharetta Public Safety Director Gary George confirmed Williams assessment and commented, “Our experiences are very good [with Freeman] and the sheriff’s department. Since Freeman took office, Alpharetta officers no longer have to [transport prisoners] downtown, where it can take anywhere from two to six hours just to get them down there.”

Fulton County transports prisoners to Grady Hospital and the Fulton County jail.

George concluded, “I have no complaints about the Fulton County sheriff’s office. My experience has been very good, and it’s been very good for the city of Alpharetta. Because of the agreement with the jail, Alpharetta saves between $800,000-$1million per year in staff for the jail. As it stands for Alpharetta, we couldn’t be happier.”

On Ted Jackson: “I’m sure he’s a fine man and a good candidate.”

Milton police chief Chris Lagerbloom had a similar take.

“Sheriff Freeman has been professional and I don’t have anything bad to say about him. The sheriff has always been willing to help when we ask for his help, and he houses our prisoners for us and has provided SWAT teams to us when we’ve needed SWAT teams. We don’t talk every week but when we do, it’s professional and cordial and we haven’t had any problems between our two agencies.”

Milton does not have a SWAT team.

What It Will Take To Win
Freeman will need to get out his base in substantial numbers. History is on his side. His machine normally delivers the vote.

To have a shot, Jackson has to motivate disaffected Democrats and appeal to Independents and Republicans to overcome Freeman’s massive support downtown.

Freeman is the odds on favorite to recapture the nomination.

However, for a guy who tracked the Midwest Mafia from dawn to dusk for 30 years, don’t discount the potential of a Jackson upset in this race. As the saying goes, “The FBI always gets their man.”