DeKalb County Commissioner Nancy Jester says protesters opposing recent police shootings threatened her, but the activists say there were no threats and they don’t condone violence.
Jester called a press conference Wednesday to bring attention to statements by members of the DeKalb County Coalition for Justice and Police Accountability, which has been seeking reforms in how police handle officer-involved shootings of unarmed black men.
The activists’ dispute with Jester came after she and other DeKalb officials met with victims’ families last week. The activists say they are concerned because Jester didn’t comment or show compassion during the meeting.
Jester said the group’s supporters threatened her sons on Twitter, made anti-Semitic comments on Facebook and yelled during a meeting last week that she would be dragged through the streets. She said she won’t press charges, but DeKalb police are taking precautions.
One of the social media posts referred to the killing of Anthony Hill, an unarmed mentally ill veteran who was shot when he ran at an officer.
"You know, I really hope NOTHING ever happens to your sons @nancy_jester because I'd HATE for you to feel the pain of Anthony Hill's mother," said the tweet posted Sunday by Nia Sade' Walker, a member of the DeKalb Coalition for Justice and Police Accountability.
Walker wrote in an email Wednesday that her message was sincere, and she didn’t intend it as a threat.
“I cannot understand how Commissioner Jester (as a mother) cannot feel the same for another mother. That was the main purpose for that tweet. I simply wanted to show the correlation,” Walker wrote.
Makungu Akinyela, a leader of the group, said Jester is trying to divide public opinion about human rights causes. He said she’s distracting attention from the real issues of police shootings.
Akinyela criticized Jester for not talking to victims of officer-involved shootings during the meeting with their families last week.
Jester said she declined to comment during the meeting because lawyers are involved and investigations are ongoing.
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