The Blotter September 05 2001

At a coffeehouse on Moreland Avenue, a female employee said an unknown man in his 30s entered the coffee shop and harassed several customers by spraying perfume on them. The employee repeatedly asked the man to leave, and he refused. The man then threw a book at the employee, which barely missed her. Then, he left.

Police arrived and found the man outside the coffee shop. He was arrested for criminal trespass and simple assault.

A man called police from a church on Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard and said another man, age 45, pulled his pants down to his ankles, exposing himself. Then, the man proceeded to masturbate. The witness said the man was on the church balcony in full view of several young women next door.

The officer questioned the 45-year-old man, who said the reason his pants were down was so he could scratch a rash on his right leg. He was charged with public indecency and taken to jail.

An officer responded to a call about a person shot on Collier Drive. Upon arrival, the officer spoke with a 20-year-old man, who said a male friend came by to smoke a blunt. While they were smoking, the friend pulled out a 9mm gun and said he had just bought it for $100. The friend pointed the gun at the 20-year-old.

“What the fuck are you doing, dog?” asked the 20-year-old. The gun wasn’t loaded, the friend said as he pointed it at the 20-year-old’s foot and shot off a round. The 20-year-old suffered a shot to the foot. The friend fled before police arrived.

A 34-year-old police officer reported, “While off duty at my home outside city limits, I accidentally discharged my city-approved back-up weapon.” The officer reported that while he was trying to get the chambered round out of the gun, the slide suddenly activated from a stuck position. The round went off, and the officer was shot in the left thigh and a bullet grazed his left palm. He was taken to DeKalb Medical Center.

A 50-year-old man said he and his friend, age 35, were at a bus stop on Crosby Drive and a MARTA bus driver drove past them. He said he and his friend managed to catch up with the bus at the intersection of Fairlane Drive and Bolton Road. The 50-year-old said he entered the MARTA bus to ask the driver for his badge number. As he exited the bus, the driver proceeded to shut the doors with his hand still inside. The driver drove about 10 feet with the man’s hand in the door, then stopped the bus and released his hand, said the 50-year-old.

A MARTA field supervisor and MARTA police responded to the scene, along with an Atlanta police officer. The police officer wrote in his report: “The name of the driver of the bus was not given; MARTA advised that they would investigate the incident.”

A 30-year-old woman was walking near the intersection of Myrtle and 10th streets on her way home. She said a man approached and took his shorts off, thus revealing his penis. He then pulled his shorts up and walked away. She followed him and called police. When an officer arrived, the 46-year-old man said his shorts fell down and that he apologized to the woman.

A 31-year-old man, along with his wife and son, exited the Kmart on Piedmont Road at about 4:30 p.m. They were walking toward the Lindbergh MARTA station when a man he knows only as “Martini” approached the 31-year-old and wanted to fight.

Martini grabbed a 12-pack of Pepsi from the 31-year-old’s bag and tried to hit him in the head with the cans. The 31-year-old ran to a nearby police precinct. An officer asked why Martini wanted to fight with him. “Martini wanted to fuck with me,” said the 31-year-old, adding that Martini threw the cans, which were damaged and scattered throughout the parking lot. The 31-year-old said he had only met Martini once before.

A 39- year-old Alpharetta woman walked into a jewelry store on Defoors Ferry and tried to exchange some jewelry that she claimed was defective. The owner, a 55-year-old man, informed her that the store has a no-return/exchange policy, which is posted in the store. The two started arguing. The owner picked up a baseball bat and told the woman if she didn’t leave his store, he would use the bat to make her leave.

The woman called police. The owner told an officer that he often displays the baseball bat when confronted by angry customers. He was charged with simple assault.

A 20-year-old man on Henry Thomas Drive told police he’s receiving harassing phone calls from his ex-girlfriend, age 18.

According to the officer’s written report, the 20-year-old said the ex-girlfriend said, “I will have somebody to do something to you. I don’t care who you tell. I’m not going to give you any goddamn money. I will skip town. Now tell that to the police.”

An officer had just finished getting information from a man involved in a hit-and-run accident on Bankhead Highway. The officer’s patrol car was about 25 feet away from the man’s car. “When he got ready to leave, there was nothing in front of his vehicle,” the officer noted in his report. But instead of pulling forward to drive away, the man started backing up.

Several officers yelled to get the man’s attention, but “he didn’t hear us,” noted the reporting officer. “He continued to back up, and his vehicle struck the front bumper of the patrol car, damaging the headlight.”??