The Blotter April 27 2005

A 52-YEAR-OLD MAN tried to perform a circumcision himself, at his home on Venetian Drive. “He cut his penis, causing a severe laceration,” the officer wrote. The man said his insurance company would not cover circumcision surgery. After examining the man, medics said hospital staff would have to complete the circumcision. The man, who has no history of mental problems, was taken to Crawford Long Hospital.

A MAN WALKED into a Catholic church during a ceremony and started to bathe in the baptismal fountain. The man, age 32, had red dreadlocks and weighed 225 pounds.The reverend told the man to stop bathing and leave the church (which is located on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive). The man refused, so police were called. The reverend and another man tried to close the sanctuary gates, and the bathing man hit both of them. When police arrived, the reverend’s hand was bleeding.

The bathing man went to jail.

A MIDDLE-AGED MAN nicknamed “Chipper” walked into a barber shop on Joseph P. Lowery Boulevard. Chipper started rolling a cigarette. An employee asked Chipper to roll his cigarette over the trash can or outside. Chipper got mad. The employee asked him to leave. Chipper lunged from a chair and grabbed a store knife. Chipper went into the bathroom and slammed things around. Then, Chipper emerged from the bathroom — still with the knife — and screamed at the employee. The employee grabbed a stick, and Chipper ran outside and slammed the door repeatedly. The employee locked the door and called 911. Police arrived and spoke to Chipper. Chipper said he owned the store and the employee attacked him. Then, Chipper “began talking crazy, stating that he served in the military for 49 years, [but he] was only 55 years old,” the officer wrote. The officer said if that were true, Chipper would have enlisted when he was 6 years old. “You know, they start young,” Chipper replied. Chipper said the knife was now in some bushes at a nearby school. Police located the knife and took Chipper to jail.

THE OWNER OF a neighborhood grocery store on Northside Drive saw a man marking up the building with obscene words and pictures: “Big Dick Tippy” with a drawing of a penis underneath. The owner confronted the man, who said, “Go ahead and call the police.” Police arrived and arrested the man, age 60. He is homeless.

AT ABOUT 1 A.M., a police officer was flagged down by medics on Forsyth Street. Medics were treating a man doused with pepper spray. The man, age 34, said he was walking on the sidewalk when a gray pickup truck stopped. A man jumped out, ran up to him and pepper-sprayed his face. “He believed the man was a police officer, possibly from Fulton County Sheriff’s Department,” the officer wrote. During the police interview, a witness approached. The witness said he saw the incident and believes the suspect is a Fulton County sheriff’s deputy, based on his uniform.The man who was pepper-sprayed went to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment.

A LOUD ENGINE REVVED on Glenwood Avenue. A police officer looked around and spotted a man sitting on a Suzuki GSX1300R motorcycle. The man wasn’t wearing a helmet. The man revved the engine again and made drag marks at the intersection.The officer stopped the man, a 26-year-old who hails from McCool, Miss. The man’s Mississippi license had been suspended for a points violation. The Mississippi man had an airline ticket in his pocket for a flight scheduled to leave in two hours. As the Mississippi man was loaded into the police wagon, he said, “Man, fuck Atlanta. I ain’t never coming back.”

ON PIEDMONT AVENUE, an officer saw a woman squatting down near a fence. When she saw the officer, she stood up and pulled up her shorts. The woman, who is seven months pregnant, said she was only shitting and doing nothing else. The officer wrote, “This area is a common spot where people use drugs and defecate or urinate.” Also, the officer knew that the woman had used crack cocaine in the past. The woman was charged with defecating in public and taken to Grady Memorial Hospital.

AN OFFICER RESPONDED to a call about a burglary at a house on Cherokee Avenue. Upon arrival, the officer spoke with a 58-year-old woman, who said her portable drill and circular saw were missing. The woman said the items could have been stolen by her ex-boyfriend — or they could be misplaced in the attic or the basement. The woman said someone is trying to make her seem crazy. She believes that her ex-boyfriend is entering her house, misplacing papers and taking her stuff. The officer reported no signs of forced entry at the house. The woman had been drinking.

ON OAK DRIVE, a 50-year-old woman called police and said she is tired of her neighbor peering through the blinds of his house and taking pictures of her family in the yard while they are working.Police spoke with the neighbor, a 44-year-old man with a crew cut. He denied taking any pictures of his neighbors, and said he is tired of his neighbors calling 911 on him for doing nothing. Both parties said this is an ongoing civil dispute between them.

All items in The Blotter are taken from actual Atlanta police reports and are public record.??