Atlanta police make arrests during summer safety initiative

WSBTV.com News Staff
·2 min read

Police are working around the clock to make sure you are safe when you go out this summer.

It’s part of Atlanta’s Summer Safety Program to address crime in city parks.

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“We rolled out our summer plan,” Atlanta Police Department Sgt. John Chafee told Channel 2′s Larry Spruill. “We focused on crime issues that we have throughout the city.”

It’s a plan Chafee said is working.

Recently, officers from the Zone 6 Crime Suppression Unit teamed up with APD’s Gang Unit to address issues in the Fourth Ward and Edgewood area.

“During that time, they made a number of arrests,” Chafee said. “They arrested someone who was wanted for stealing a package off a porch in Midtown. Then, we arrested a convicted felon with a firearm and narcotics on him.”

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Chafee said the arrest of 36-year old Darryl Swain happened at Butler Park.

Detectives said Swain is known to have gang ties and said he also had cocaine on him.

According to Chafee, officers also arrested 57-year-old Laron Lowe for possession of Adderall, morphine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, Viagra, Xanax, codeine pills and 49 grams of marijuana.

“We want to make sure that our parks, especially during the summer time, ...are safe,” Chafee said. “They’re an area where our communities feel safe to come out and bring their children, have a good time and enjoy the city parks. What we were seeing in our enforcement — the activity at Butler Park — was illegal narcotics sales inside and around the park.”

Channel 2 recently reported about how officers are ramping up their bike patrols in Zone 1.

They are riding through the area in an effort to show more visibility.

It’s another effort to stop crime throughout the city, especially at the city parks.

“I think one of the appeals, is there are large that attend these parks. There will be activities that are going on there that draw in a lot of people,” Chafee said.

But they want everyone to know, they’re watching.

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“We want to make sure we’re addressing crime issues throughout our city. We want our communities to feel safe. We want to make sure we stay ahead of crime trends that we may see,” he said.

APD also arrested 47-year-old Kwanza Johnson for possession of cocaine, 64-year-old Marvin Wilson for possession of cocaine and 43-year-old Jarius Anderson for selling marijuana.

He was charged with possession of marijuana with intent and possession of schedule two drugs.

Three citations were issued for possession of marijuana, and one person was arrested for driving with a suspended license.

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