An Atlanta, Georgia suburb has had enough and has decided to file for divorce.
The community of Buckhead, an Atlanta suburb has been mulling leaving the city for years however the recent crime spike and efforts to defund the police are the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“We filed for divorce and our divorce is final,” said Bill White, chairman and CEO of the Buckhead City Committee. “We’re forming our own city, we’re establishing our own police force and we will eradicate crime.”
Atlanta’s mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms claims the crime wave is COVID related however it all started after the George Floyd riots in her city last year. Homicides are up 63% and shootings are up 45% since 2019.
To boot Buckhead residents say they are paying taxes but it’s not going into their schools and infrastructure.
“We’re too far gone for the city of Atlanta to help us at this point,” Regina, a Buckhead resident who didn’t want her last name published for fear of retaliation, said. “We’ve lost all faith in them.”
Georgia lawmakers are paving the way for Buckhead to leave Atlanta and form “Buckhead City.” Groupls like the Buckhead City Committee has raised $600,000 to support lobbying efforts and home to have the measure on the 2022 ballot.
Crime is out of control in the city of Atlanta, recently, Volkan Topalli, a Georgia State University professor was struck by bullet when he accidentally walked into crossfire.
“I started thinking about how fortunate I was that I had not brought (my wife) with me, I had not brought my two young children with me. Something could have happened to them, they could have witnessed what happened to me,” Topalli said. “As far as they’re concerned, daddy broke his arm.”
Mayor Bottoms, who has come under heavy criticism announced that she will not be running for another term. Buckhead residents say she’s the reason for the crime spike after she eliminated cash bond in 2018 for low level offenders. Residents are also furious that Bottoms supported the firing of officers that shot Rayshard Brooks.
Resident’s also expressed they are done with the “lip service,” Spencer Roane, who has lived in Buckhead for twenty years said he’s done with the politicians.
“I’m convinced that there’s enough people in Buckhead — enough resources, if you will, in Buckhead — to run the city of Buckhead every bit as well as any other city,” Roane said. “I would say to the city of Atlanta, ‘I’m sorry, but I’m tired of talking about these problems. I’m not interested in more lip service. I’m ready to do something about it myself.'”
