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“Officer on the Block” Celebration Heralds
a Fresh Start
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On May 17th, District Attorney
Paul L. Howard welcomed neighborhood residents, local officials,
and law enforcement officers to a special ceremony inaugurating
this Office’s “Officer on the Block” initiative.
Held at 503 Atwood Street in southwest Atlanta, the event celebrated
Atlanta Police Officer Harry Stephens’ moving into the former
crack house seized and then renovated by the District Attorney’s
Community Prosecution Office as part of the “Neighborhood
Fresh Start” program. Speakers and guests included, along
with
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District Attorney Howard, Atlanta Police Chief
Richard Pennington; Elizabeth Nodal, special assistant, Justice
Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance; members of the
Atlanta City Council and Fulton County Board of Commissioners;
as well as members of the community who have been actively involved
in the program.
“We welcome the entire community to join
us for this landmark event in what we hope will be the transformation
of this neighborhood to one in which families can feel safe and
live without the scourge of illegal drugs,” said Mr. Howard.
“Officer Stephens’ presence in the home will be a visible
symbol of the retaking of this community from the criminal element.”
Opening the program, the Benjamin E. Mays High
School Honor Guard performed a “Presentation of the Colors”
flag ceremony. There were a variety of activities for children,
including face painting and a magic show performed by D’Avanté
the Clown. Refreshments were generously provided by Wayfield Foods
supermarket, whose manager, Tony Fitzpatrick, serves on the Community
Prosecution Office’s Citizens’ Advisory Committee. There
was also a “moonwalk” for children and musical performances.
Atlanta Police Officer Harry Stephens (27) is
a Michigan native who came to Atlanta to attend Morehouse College.
After graduating in 1999 with a degree in Sociology, Officer Stephens
joined the Atlanta Police Department in 2000 and has been assigned
as the “beat officer” in the Atwood Street neighborhood
since that time. He knows the community well and is looking forward
to now calling it home.
Neighborhood Fresh Start: Background
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The 503 Atwood Street property’s former owner, Ms. Imelda
Balli, lived in the house along with her daughter and two sons.
Her sons had been selling drugs out of the house for nearly three
years, and repeated arrests had been made at the location. Local
police officers knew the family well and had spoken with Ms. Balli
about the serious nature of the activity taking place in her home
on several occasions. Ms. Balli was personally served with a “cease
& desist” letter in March 2000, and, in January of last
year, the District Attorney’s Office filed a forfeiture action
against the house. The illegal activity at the home was so brazen
that, just two weeks prior to the trial, undercover police were
able to purchase cocaine at the location.
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The unique civil case (in which the District
Attorney’s Office acted as the plaintiff) went to trial in
May of last year to determine whether or not the property would
be forfeited. The District Attorney’s Community Prosecutor,
along with members of the Asset Forfeiture and Major Drugs Units,
represented the State. At the close of testimony, Judge Elizabeth
Long ruled in favor of the District Attorney’s Office and determined
that the house would be turned over to the State. Ms. Balli then
filed an appeal, but the seizure was later upheld. |
The seizure of this property was the first action taken under the Office’s
“Neighborhood Fresh Start” initiative targeting properties
where drug activity is taking place. The program, administered through
the Community Prosecution Program, works by first forfeiting the property
and then by moving a police officer into the home to live rent-free
for a period of roughly one year. At the end of that time, the house
will be sold to a low to moderate-income family. The program’s
goal is to approach the problem of illegal drug activity systemically
rather than by simply repeatedly arresting offenders.
Neighborhood Fresh Start’s Program Partners include the Office
of Mayor Shirley Franklin, Atlanta City Council, Atlanta Housing Code
Enforcement, Atlanta Neighborhood Planning Units, Atlanta Police Department,
Capitol City Bank, Citizens’ Advisory Board of Zone 4, City of
Atlanta Bureau of Neighborhood Conservation, City of Atlanta Housing
Department, City of Atlanta Zoning Department, the Fulton/Atlanta Land
Bank Authority, U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development,
Fannie Mae, H.J. Russell & Company, the MLK Merchants’ Association,
Office of Pardons & Paroles, Office of the United States Attorney,
the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, University Community Development
Corporation, West End Strategic Group, and Zion Hill Baptist Church.
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