To: Mr. Albert J. Scott, Chairman: Chatham County Commission, Ms. Edna Jackson, Mayor of Savannah, and Mr. Yusuf Shabazz, Chatham County Commissioner, District 5

Demand a full apology for and retraction of inflammatory remarks made by Mr. Yusuf Shabazz

On Sept. 18th, a police-related shooting shook Savannah: a young man, Charles Smith, is dead, and a police officer is under GBI scrutiny for the shooting. While many details have not been released of the investigation, and I will refrain from commenting on the shooting itself, one fact is not in question:

Mr. Charles Smith had an outstanding warrant for auto theft by receiving, and was already on parole for other offenses previously committed. He was arrested on this warrant and parole violation in a local convenience store. He was handcuffed and put into a patrol car. After he kicked out the window of the patrol car, he is alleged to have flashed a weapon that remained undiscovered during the arrest, and he was shot and killed on the scene.

While our community is shocked and saddened by this incident, and not only want but demand a full accounting of the facts as evidenced by the immediate investigation by the GBI, we also demand full accountability from our elected representatives, and expect them to maintain a professional, peaceful, and proactive presence in the community.

In this regard, Mr. Yusuf Shabazz, County Commissioner of the 5th District, has failed miserably. On Tuesday, Sept. 23rd, Mr. Shabazz led a rally on the convenience store where the arrest took place. He called for a boycott of the convenience store and blamed the owner for calling the police on a wanted man. He blamed the owner of the convenience store for the young man's death, claiming "we hold you responsible," thus potentially endangering the business, livelihood, and possibly the well-being of the store owner and his family.

These irresponsible and highly immoral and unethical remarks do not send the right message about this shooting or our city. No matter the facts of the actual shooting, the convenience store owner is in no way responsible for what happened. He released surveillance tapes as required by the GBI. Further, EVEN IF HE DID contact the police to arrest a wanted man, is this now a crime?

Is it a crime to keep our neighborhoods crime free by being proactive and calling the police? Is this the message we want to send to our youth, that we will hold "snitches" responsible for their tips?

Mr. Shabazz's remarks were hateful, divisive, and inflammatory. As an elected official, he represents everyone in Chatham County, not just his district, and we refuse to be represented by this kind of hate.

Whereas we as the citizens and residents of Chatham County and Savannah, Georgia, both deserve and demand better from our government, we call on Mayor Edna Jackson and other elected officials to:

A) Demand an immediate and public apology and retraction by Mr. Yusuf Shabazz.

B) Censure him to the fullest possible measure for his inflammatory and unethical remarks.

C) Issue a statement absolutely condemning Mr. Shabazz's remarks and uncategorically supporting the convenience store owner.

D) Continue to keep Savannah calm and peaceful while the investigation continues by immediately and publicly renouncing efforts such as Mr. Shabazz's to divide and inflame our community.

Why is this important?

Our community deserves and demands full accountability from our elected representatives. Mr. Shabazz's comments were unethical and inflammatory and could lead to the direct harm of a law-abiding citizen. His remarks also send the wrong message to our youth and do nothing to assuage the community's pain over the shooting.