Rawlings faces complaints from Fremont citizens

19 July 2007 — A group of neighbors came before the Fremont Town Board on Tuesday night to present some concerns they have about the local police department.

The Chestnut Street residents said they felt that the police were unfairly targeting their neighborhood.

“It seems like every time somebody comes down that hill, they get pulled,” said Shirley Exum, one of the citizens who came to Tuesday’s meeting.

She said that complaints had been filed on her daughter because alleged drug dealers had been hanging around her front yard, but that her daughter did not want the people there either.

Mrs. Exum also asked how Police Chief Ron Rawlings had obtained the power to have her daughter evicted from her apartment. She claimed that her daughter was evicted from her apartment because police had told the landlord that when a shooting occurred in the neighborhood, it happened in her daughter’s yard. Mrs. Exum said that statement is misinformation.

Chief Rawlings sought to clarify, saying that he did not have Mrs. Exum’s daughter evicted from her apartment, nor does he have the power to do so. He said the police department had been keeping documentation on the residence because a known drug dealer was living there.

His documentation is a part of a project that Chief Rawlings has begun, using nuisance laws to cut down on drug traffic in Fremont. The department keeps records of traffic impediments in neighborhoods and loitering around certain homes, then reports the nuisance to the landlord. Any evictions that occur are at the landlord’s discretion, not the directive of the police department.

Still, several members of the neighborhood said they felt uncomfortable having gatherings at their home because they were afraid the police would target them.

One woman, who declined to give her name, said that she regularly has large groups of people in her yard because she likes to give neighborhood children a place to stay.

Another resident, Tomika Smith, also expressed concerns, saying that people didn’t want to come to her house because they were afraid they would get stopped by the police.

“Everybody down the hill is not bad,” she said. “When you see drug dealers down there, 90 percent of them don't live down there. Get them out of there, I don’t care about them, but it’s not our job to get him off the street.”

Chief Rawlings and Mayor Devone Jones told the citizens that, because the department has a limited staff on duty at all times, it was important for them to pass along information and work with the department to help get the drug dealers off of the street.

But the citizens replied that they don’t want to call because they don’t feel that they have any protection if they report someone.
Alderman Billy Harvey thanked the citizens for voicing their concerns, but urged them to work with department to resolve the issue.

“We need to work together to try to help and eliminate any problem we’ve got,” he said. “A lot of times when you begin to point fingers, you can’t get to a good resolution because of that. The best thing is to have open dialogue and talk about it.”

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