COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) -- There was a new tone at the Columbus Council today as the discussion on an ordinance to prohibit homeless camping on public property entered a second week.
Councilors, city employees, homeless advocates and police officers weighed in.
There have been concerns that this law – not unlike others being passed across the country – would criminalize homelessness.
A Columbus Police sergeant and her words changed the whole conversation when she told of helping a homeless mother and her disabled son.
“Within 15 minutes we had them a place to stay,“ Sgt. Katina Williams told council.
Williams leads a Community Police team that is a Columbus Police Department unit that works with the homeless.
She struggled with the words to describe what she and her team found last Friday. She reached out to someone in the community willing to help.
“They were willing to put this woman and her children up in a hotel for two weeks," WIlliams said as her voice continued to crack and she fought to regain her composure. "This young lady said I only need services for a week. So, they put her in a hotel through Aug. 1st.”
The officers she leads saw the struggle. And they rose from the audience as a unit and stood behind her at the podium.
“These guys," she said, acknowledging the support. "They were there. We witness this every day. ... I am sorry but I am very passionate about my work in the community. Whether it’s the homeless or whoever, I can tell you now. Each and every one of us in this community ... that we do something to help them not hinder them. We are not just there to put them in jail.”
The humanity on display by Williams was not lost on a councilor and a criminal defense attorney who witnessed it.
“It says a lot about where her heart is when it comes to caring for people in our community," District 1 Councilor Byron Hickey said.
Anthony Johnson was critical of the proposed ordinance last week. This week the Columbus criminal defense attorney was praising Williams and her officers.
“All she was talking about was these were real people," Johnson said. "The sacrifices CPD was making. Some of the things she wanted to do to keep people off the streets.”
The Community Policing unit was established two years ago by Chief Stoney Mathis. It has seven officers, including Sgt. Williams.
The ordinance is set for continued discussion in two weeks.
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