Tensions on the South Fulton City Council burst into public view at a meeting Tuesday night, when one city councilwoman called in police after she accused another of threatening her with a Taser.
The incident inside the council chambers appears to have been triggered by a disagreement about the correct way to rename a football field at Old National city park. Toward the end of the council meeting, Helen Zenobia Willis accused her fellow council member, Rosie Jackson, of threatening her with a Taser.
In video of the three-and-half-hour meeting, it’s unclear exactly what transpired, but Jackson can be seen pointing animatedly at Willis, who is talking and pointing back at her.
"Excuse me, both of y'all are getting out of order," Mayor Bill Edwards said, while pounding his gavel.
Minutes later, Willis motioned for a city police officer to approach the council dais. With the council meeting still in session, the camera shows a flurry of activity as Willis, Jackson and Edwards walk in and out of the chamber.
South Fulton police chief Keith Meadows on Thursday confirmed that an incident is being investigated, but said no police report has been filed.
He said his understanding was that a verbal exchange about a legislative issue “became contentious.”
“One councilwoman is alleging a threat was made with a Taser,” he said.
The embarrassing episode is the latest sign of growing pains in the new city of South Fulton, which was formed to incorporate a large swath of Fulton County south of Atlanta after a 2016 referendum. The city of about 100,000 people is governed by a seven-member council, plus the mayor.
Other controversies include a contentious public debate about changing the city's name. It was briefly called Renaissance before Mayor Edwards vetoed the council's decision. He later vetoed the council's choice of a city seal as well a plan for council members to hire staff assistants.
The council's meetings, at times, have been raucous affairs that have drawn large crowds. At a meeting in January, a city ordinance proposed by Willis to allow officers to jail parents for their children's crimes elicited impassioned public comments from an overflow crowd. The measure was later tabled. In March, the council voted to decriminalize marijuana.
There’s sharp disagreement about what unfolded Tuesday. For his part, Mayor Edwards has declined to discuss the incident publicly. Another council member, Khalid Kamau, would not comment about specifics, but said in a text message that the city “will not be brought down by small people.”
The day after the meeting, Jackson said she knew “nothing about” the Taser episode.
“To my knowledge, nothing happened,” she said.
Her attorney, Michael Katz, said Willis had made false allegations against other council members in the past. Jackson was “pretty adamant this didn’t happen,” he said.
“She doesn’t own a Taser,” he said.
Willis said Thursday that she could not speak on the matter.
“It’s just best for me to let the investigation play out,” she said in a text message.
Hours later, she sent an email statement saying she was “deeply saddened” by what transpired at the council meeting.
Tracy L. Rolle, a South Fulton resident who regularly attends council meetings, is frustrated that the episode she called “embarrassing” has distracted from important city business in a community still trying to find its identity.
“We should be able to agree to disagree and be adults about it,” she said. “This overpowered important issues we should be dealing with.”
Rolle was not at Tuesday’s meeting and doesn’t know the details of what happened, but said it’s well known that Jackson carries a Taser for protection. Still, Rolle said she doubts Willis’ story and has witnessed her openly disagree with other council members. Rolle doesn’t believe Jackson would brandish the weapon in a council meeting.
“Rosie is not stupid enough to pull a Taser on Helen,” she said.
The city police department seems to recognize the fraught nature of sorting out a dispute between elected officials.
Chief Meadows said his investigators will take witness statements and review video, but he plans to forward the case to the district attorney as soon as possible.
For now, Meadows had little to say about an episode that has drawn unwanted attention to the city.
“All of these things will come out during the course of the investigation,” he said.
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