DEKALB – Addressing recent violent incidents in the Hillcrest and Russell Road neighborhoods, DeKalb City Manager Bill Nickles and Police Chief David Byrd reassured the council that department staffing is nearing a historic high of 75 officers and that patrols are heavier in those areas. Chief Byrd explained that recent tragedies, including a fatal dispute allegedly sparked by a basketball game argument, highlighted a broader struggle with conflict resolution, noting that investigators have identified the suspects in both recent major cases and that arrests are imminent.
“We have to be careful to not over-police a certain group of people and we have to be mindful of that as well. So we try to balance all that and provide the utmost public safety that we can for a certain area. So at this point we know who these two offenders are and we have several entities looking for both of these individuals,” Byrd said.
Officials stressed the “see something, say something” strategy remains essential to disrupting the cycle of violence in the community.