Thank you for your comment CI5835. This lets me know that you took some time to read what I had stated.

As far as being Proactive, what I mean is that the department needs a newer, different direction now that Randall is leaving. I have said this many times before, if Randall was staying, then the department would be fine. But, when the Sheriff leaves here at the end of the year, someone NEW can't just come in, sit behind the same desk and continue what Sheriff Johnson has done for almost 32 years now. The main reason for this is because he's Sheriff Johnson and he's leaving.

If the theory that someone can come in and just take another person's place was true, then a cashier of Walmart could come in and run the department exactly the same. It is true, we have an excellent department. The employees are motivated and actually ENJOY working here in the community. The community also likes and respects their law enforcement.

What I feel is that as a leader, you should always try to stay ahead of the game. You should try to make everything better than it already is. If your not moving ahead, your falling behind.

In response to your statement about the department not writing tickets just for writing tickets, thats true. What you don't know is that, pretty much, thats all that they do right now. The Traffic Division is set up to write tickets and work wrecks. And, if you check the STATS, most of this is done SOUTH of Georgia Highway 54. I DON'T have to check the STATS, I worked at the department and heard those units when they called out with pullovers.

I believe that most of the guys in that unit want to be aggressive and would love to track down DUI's and drivers transporting narcotics. They just aren't encouraged to. I can tell you one example, that I was involved with, back about two years ago.

I would work warrants alone on the weekends. This meant I was serving them alone, when the road was busy or tied up with calls. I started to work with one of the traffic investigators, Chris Stapleton, and we would team up. I would back him up on pullovers on the north end of the county, and he would back me up on warrant pulls.

One night, up on Ga. 138 near Ga. 314, I pulled over a car with two occupants in it. Chris Stapleton pulled out with me. Together, through further investigation, we determined that the front seat passenger was wanted for Murder and twelve counts of Aggravated Assault. We arrested him without incident.

Shortly after the arrest, I was notified "Good job, don't do it again". There was some conflict involved because I was in a unmarked Sheriff's car and he was writing too many tickets up north. I am not attacking any Division of the department. I am merely stating that the fact that two officers that got a wanted violent murderer off of the streets, should be commended, not frowned upon.

This is something that I would like to change. Just the thinking that goes on at different levels of the department. Our troops are motivated and want to make a difference. This is a direct result of the Sheriff's attitude and ideals. This needs to be continued.

In reference to a Crime Surpression Unit, we DON'T have one. The DTF, is just that. DRUG SURPRESSION UNIT. They are great at what they do but they can't do everything and be effective. We need a seperate unit to handle incidents of theft, gang activity, burglaries and surveillance. Our DTF is effective because they only do Drug Surpression. You can't take a DTF agent and put them in Traffic and expect the same results. Or, vice versa.

When you talk about Community Policing, I do know that terminology. I was trying to describe what the State of Georgia residents remember from years past. Community Policing is a northern idea and term which has just started to take root here in the last 10 to 15 years.

A Roadside Assistance program or unit would be better for handling situations than a patrol unit. A patrol unit should be doing just that, patroling. Looking for burglar's, suspicious people and preventing crime. A specialized unit set up for handling stranded/broke down citizens, could respond fairly quickly and would more effective. I have never minded changing tires, but, it does mess up your uniform. Try and imagine what spilled gas smells like in the back of your car after giving someone a lift to a gas station. That with a whole shift ahead of you.

As for higher education, I do have some college. But, like most officers I know, we have to work almost everyday off just to make ends meet. I have personally worked almost everyday for the last three or four years. Just like teachers, the job is great, not the pay.

I also want to remind the citizens that our current Sheriff, Randall Johnson, was a State Renevue Agent before he ran for sheriff. He was mostly alone or with a partner and went on to become one of the best Sheriff's Georgia has ever had. He was also 37 years old when he was elected.

I am sorry that I am labeled with the "Good Ole Boy" title because I work in law enforcement in Georgia. I don't feel that I am anything more than "a cop" trying to do the best that I can for the county. I would hope that the label that they are putting on Dave Simmons would upset you too. If it does, than maybe you can see past both and just choose a candidate on what you think they will do in that position.

Again, I want to thank you CI5835 for your comments and the time you took to read this and my last article. Thomas Mindar

i trust you are a busy man and i do appreciate your response, it tells me you do pay attention to input from the public and care what others have to say.

it is unfortunate to hear that the Traffic guys are discouraged from doing anything other than traffic. But as for DUI is concerned, although a misdeamenor offense it is still technically a traffic offense as it is under Title 40 (Motor Vehicles and Traffic) of O.C.G.A. and not Title 16 (Crimes and Offenses). I don't understand why they would not be working DUI's by having "safty checks" throughout the county during critical hours? I guess this would be a question to address to Hannah.

Yes, it may make sense to have a seperate "Crime Supression Unit" to focus strictly on preveting burglaries, larcenies, gang activity, etc by conducting more surveillance, foot patrols, etc. I just believe that these resources currently exist in the DTF to do this and work narcotics both. Simply focus on what is going on in Fayette Co. instead of conducting so many ops outside of the county. There is plenty going on here inside Fayette Co. that they are missing because of the way they are operating.

Furthermore, you should know well that all the DTF agents were once jail officers, traffic, patrol, or non-drug related investigators. They are all well rounded officers and that is why they are in the unit. I won't name names mainly because he is so new to the unit but one of your buddies from traffic is now DTF. Therefore, you can take someone from traffic and utilize him or her as a drug agent or vice versa. They are already plain clothed and drive unmarked cars with confidential tags. Why not keep these agents inside the county and free them up to use their spare time to conduct surveillance ops and prevent cimes.

I still don't agree with your roadside assistance unit idea. I don't believe it would be an efficient use of scarce resources. However, if the department were to truly institute community policing and form a COPS unit they may be able to fill this role as part of their community-oriented policing duties. I do know that the COPS unit in Forest Park does not take routine calls for service from dispatch. This leaves them free to meet with private citizens, business owners, conduct foot patrols in neighborhoods, etc. If we did the same here they may be able to take on a dual role to take priority in calls from stranded motorists.

One thing I want to be absolutely clear on. I was not trying to talk down to you in reference to higher education. I respect you as an individual and as a law enforcement officer greatly. I also respect you for your willingness to serve and your participation in the political process. I believe you when you say you want to do the best you can for the county. I still believe you ought to give it another 4 or 8 years before going for Sheriff. With the modern nature of law enforcement I don't think we will see someone as young as 37 be elected as Sheriff again. I also believe that higher education is extremely important to todays police officer/sheriff's deputy. I understand how hard it can be with work, family, or whatever else you have going on to find time for schooling. Even if it is just part-time, I would like to see you and anyone else at the department currently lacking a college degree, pursue and attain higher education; especially for those in supervisory roles. It doesn't have to be a criminal justice degree, it could be anything you want to study. This would show the public that both our officers and our Sheriff/department value education and bettering themselves through the learning process.

Lastly, I don't see you as a "Good Ole Boy" and I don't want that label to become attached to you. I would attach that label to Babb or Hannah, especially if one of them gets elected. Sure they have been good deputies for many years, but they have simply been Johnsons right hand men minus Jordan. What are their professional qualifications? To me, a lot of time in a department giving you a lot of experience and training is just that, a lot of training and experience...i do not think that qualifies one to be Sheriff.

By the way, Dave doesn't deserve the label or the slanderous lies some are trying to attach to and perpetuate about him. Some of the GOB's are obviously threatened by his exeplary record and professional qualifications so they feel they must turn this into a negative smear campaign.

Good luck to you Sir over the next couple of months. Whether you win or not im sure it will be a great experience and set you up well for a second run if need be. Thanks again.

I think the key word is DRUG suppression task force not theft suppression unit. These guys are focusing on mid to high level dealers, excactly what they need to do to try and stop the drugs before they get to our community. One other note, I beleive most of the Pavillion is in the city of Fayetteville.

You just ruined whatever small chance he had, by supporting him.

Smooth, very smooth.

He does have some good ideas, and he has never been investigated by the FBI or the U.S. Justice dept. Which is good we need someone who is honest.

I wish he had some management or supervisory experience.

One vote. Short line. Not long to wait.
Mindar, you won't get my vote!

I'm sort of new to this blogging thing. I have learned over the last few weeks reading about SB458 and how it might affect Fayette that there are lots of opinions out there. Some are pretty out there.

I've become interested in the Sheriff's race because I want to stay here and not have to move again and crime is a big issue. I've looked at Dave Simmons web site and now know at least the names of the others who are running.

Yesterday, I was eating dinner at Zaxbys next to Publix and in came a Deputy and a Fayetteville Officer to eat. They sat down and while they were waiting for their food, I introduced myself and told them I was starting to get interested in the Sheriff's race.

I asked they who they thought should be the next Sheriff. The Deputy said that two of them were high ranking and he couldn't afford to get involved. He said the other one was a warrant guy who you had to take what ever he said with a grain of salt. He also mentioned (and I quote) some old retired guy from Detroit who lived in a big house in Whitewater Subdivision. I took that to mean Mr. Simmons. The Fayetteville Officer said he didn't care but Major Goodling should be the next Chief of Police (interesting).

After chatting a few minutes with them I picked up on something about Mr. Mindar. He said the best thing about the Sheriff's Department was that they took Mindar and that was good for his department. The deputy asked the Fayetteville Officer if they wanted Mr. Mindar back? They just grinned at each other and that was the end of it.

I goggled the three names the officers gave me (Babb, Hannah, and Mindar). I looked at the web sites for Hannah and Mindar, plus I searched the citizen web site for all three too.

I looked at Mindars site and was pretty unimpressed. It’s kind of light on accomplishments. As best I can tell from his web site and the citizen blogs, he's never been more than a basic officer or deputy. No supervision experience what so ever except for something called a squad leader in the army.

I work in the electronics manufacturing industry and have been a section supervisor for a number of years. I consider myself a pretty smart person, and even so, I realize that I will need more education, training, and experience before I could be a manager... President of the company--No way!

I sorry but Mr. Mindar's letter here, as well as his web site, read like someone who sits at the bottom of the totem pole and chafes at the thought that they haven't been recognized yet because they have all the answers. Sounds like he has all the answers for everything but I wonder why he's still just a deputy.

Oh, while I'm thinking about it. Mr. Mindar and Mr. Simmons... Isn't the Fayette Pavilion in the City of Fayetteville? Isn't that their responsibility? If I were the Chief of Police, I would be offended by your insinuation (purposeful or not) in your other letters that the Sheriff's office was going to be the one to "clean it up."

Some of the blogs I have read are obviously written by someone who knows Mr. Mindar. If you know, please help me understand what the deputy at Zaxbys said sort of under his breath about Mr. Mindar. As I got up to go back to my table when the deputy’s order was called, he said it didn't matter how the vote went, Mindar would settle it in the ring.

I see the picture with his letter. Is he a fighter or something?

Mr. Babb didn't have his own web site, but his name did come up on the Sheriff's Department web site. I'll try to find out more about him some other way.

I looked at Mr. Hannah's web site and it had some pretty straight forward stuff about him. The goggle search turned up his name a lot.
Try taking a look at the Traffic Section of the Sheriff's Office web site. I liked it. I'm going to research him a little bit more.

Anyway, for now, Mr. Mindar, there are a lot more questions about you than there are answers for right now but I guess we'll be finding out in the next few weeks.

One thing about your letter I really have to question your judgment on? If, from what I heard on TV yesterday that Fayette County is having a rough time with budgets and all, do you really think its smart to take police officers and put them to work as a road service crew? I thought the police were supposed to be fighting crime? Now, I don't know you personally, but really... doesn’t that sound like pandering for votes? That tells me, and it might not to anyone else, but it shows your lack of supervision and management experience.

I've said previously my brother is a retired police officer from Cleveland. I asked him for his take on Mr. Mindar, he said he's worked with guys before who sound like Mr. Mindar before.

They mean well, but for different reasons they don't get promoted, and feel slighted. They feel like if they can get named Chief, they will solve all the problems the current bosses seemed incapable of. I know people like that. They are impatient most of the time. They have a tendency to be into posturing for their co-workers and promise everything to everyone.

Maybe the time is not quite right for you yet Mr. Mindar. Why not try working on getting promoted and learn first hand the difference between being a worker and a supervisor. If you truly are the type of person who needs to be Sheriff, those experiences will server you well when your time finally comes.

Really now... A road service crew? Please!

Thanks to all of you for putting up with my ramblings.

I'll have a Buffaloed Blue Salad please.

Great blog Mr. Bonner. Great perspectives and some good overall info. This process has and is just starting up. And as time moves on and more info is obtained by "we the people" it won't take long to see who rises to the top in offering us the best crime fighting leadership available from the selection of folks who will be qualifying next week.

In Regards to Babb's website, or lack of, I've been told that Babb is taking the high road and waiting to officially qualify before kicking his campaign off officially. From what I understand he is concerned about this race conflicting with his current official responsibilities. I'm not sure, but I think these guys have to take a leave of absence while pursuing this race. Some may be jumping the gun inappropriately. Of that I am not sure.

As for Simmons, I believe he is the Whitewater / Rick Price / Peter / Greg candidate. It seems he may be the retaliatory option against the ongoing battles between these former leaders and their animosity toward our current sheriff. Whether that is fact or not, we'll soon see.

Thanks for entering the fray. After next week it'll really start getting ugly around here. That's when the real fun begins.....

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The Sissy And The Word Defined