By Ben Smith, AJC
A cop who encounters a homeless man can ignore him, question him or arrest him. Or he can simply tell him to move on.
Not Jeremy Turner. In his off-hours, the DeKalb County police officer carries on the work his father died for. Turner’s father, an advocate for the homeless, was killed in 1998 while trying to help build a house for a homeless family.
In 2007, when then-police chief Terrell Bolton set up DeKalb’s community policing program, Turner signed up. He also set out to replace his father’s non-profit. The new organization, Contribute2America, is currently awaiting approval for tax-exempt status, Turner said.
“I think Jeremy Turner personifies the phrase ‘protect and serve,’ ” Joannie Strauss said. “I call him my guardian angel".
Monday, May 4, 2009
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7 comments:
Thank you for blogging this article. I missed it in the AJC. Please let us know when we can contribute to Contribute2America. It is touching to hear Officer Jeremy Turner is continuing the good work of his father and helping so many in need.
Jeremy is the bomb and a former member of the HIT team. What a great man and a outstanding Police Officer!
I had a run in with a homeless person I found passed out on my front porch when I came home one day over 10 years ago, when I still lived in DeKalb. DKPD arrived on the scene, I saw no reason to charge the poor guy with tresspassing, and his story was sad, he had been beaten up in a fight the previous night at the neighboring apartments over something drug-related, and claimed he had spent the night on my front porch, which was untrue because I would have walked over him leaving for work. The two DKPD officers responding worked for 45 minutes with the guy attempting to find a reletive or friend to take the guy in. They finally left with the guy, taking him to a shelter. I was impressed with the officers social worker skills in dealing with the issue. They were not interested in arresting the guy, and were truly to attempting to help him out. You guys are true servants to our citizens, and are appreciated by those who understand what you do. I plan on attending the memorial service (unless my slave-driving boss finds something for me to do instead) and will extend my best wishes to all I meet!
yea..Ia also have given stranded famaly's and homeless people cash from my pocket on occasions over the years and I know other officers did too..also bought them lunch at McDonalds etc on occasion..not to mention numerous tires that I changed for people over ther years..other officers too but some of the public still likes to just make the donut jokes about us....whatever...I know we do the right thing.
When I grow up I want to be just like Turner...
C'mon...you said "some of the public still likes to make donut jokes about us".......Of course they do...and we do ourselves. We are the worst joke tellers of all. That's our therapy! You gotta make yourself laugh!
Ten Signs Your Partner Needs A Vacation
10. Every Tuesday he insists it's his turn to be the siren.
9. He is starting to develop a crush on one of the transvestite hookers he arrested.
8. He wants to transfer to a K-9 unit because he thinks he'd look good in a collar.
7. He wants you to call him "Judge Dredd", and he insists that all suspects should be executed right there on the spot.
6. He talk to himself. Half of him is the "good cop", and the other half is the "bad cop".
5. He keeps asking you if his bullet proof vest makes him look fat.
4. He is exchanging donut recipes with complete strangers.
3. The perpetrators beg him to stop talking about his hemorrhoids.
2. He wants to hear less talk and more music on the police channel.
1. He keeps handcuffing himself by accident!!
Bubba & Earl
Two rednecks, Bubba and Earl, were driving down the road drinking a couple of bottles of Bud.
The passenger, Bubba, said "Lookey thar up ahead, Earl, it's a police roadblock!! We're gonna get busted fer drinkin' these here beers!!"
"Don't worry, Bubba," Earl said. "We'll just pull over and finish drinkin' these beers then peel off the label and stick it on our foreheads, and throw the bottles under the seat."
"What fer?", asked Bubba.
"Just let me do the talkin', OK?," said Earl.
Well, they finished their beers, threw the empties out of sight & put label on each of their foreheads.
When they reached the roadblock, the sheriff said, "You boys been drinkin'?"
"No, sir," said Earl while pointing at the labels. "We're on the patch."
Speaking of donuts. I did not get his name but I would like to thank the Dekalb County Officer who sat on the Krispy Kreme shop on HWY 78 for 60 hours to raise money for the Special Olympics. My neighbors daughter who is part of the Special Olympics benefits from this each year. You did a awesome job.
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