Crime & Safety

Clarkston Mayor Stands Against Crime

75-year-old Clarkston Mayor Emanuel Ransom began the chase that led to the arrest of two thieves on July 16.

Clarkston Mayor Emanuel Ransom was leaving the post office when he noticed a suspicious cargo van parked on the construction site of the new public works building.  He stopped to watch the van and knew something was wrong when he realized that the man who was single-handedly lifting materials on the site was loading them into the van, not taking them out.

When the van pulled away shortly after, Ransom decided to follow it.

“I said let me go see where the van went because it’s got our materials in it,” Ransom said.

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He drove up towards Industrial Boulevard and saw the cargo van pull out of the Avalon complex.  When he noticed a police car with it’s lights turned on, Ransom called on him to assist in the chase.  

“I flagged him down and told him to go after that van,” Ransom said. 

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The woman then drove up onto Clarkston Industrial Boulevard, a dead-end road.

When the mayor and on-duty police officer blocked her in and questioned her, she denied stealing anything and her empty van seemed to back up her story, until the police officer suggested that Ransom check the area to see if she had abandoned the building materials during the chase.

“She had dumped out our stuff on the ground in the back,” Ransom said. 

She was detained and by then Clarkston Police Chief Hudson had arrived on the scene and decided to pursue the male suspect who had been last seen at the construction site.

“I gave [the chief] the description of the man and the Chief caught him up by Emory Hospital,” Ransom said.

The two thieves confessed and were charged with three misdemeanors and one felony for theft of government property.

Ransom says he decided to pursue the thieves rather than wait for police because he “just got angry.”

“They weren’t just stealing from me, they were stealing from taxpayers, my constituents,” Ransom said. “ I just couldn’t sit there and not do anything.”

Ransom cautioned Clarkston residents not to follow his example, but to instead call 911 if they notice any suspicious activity.

“I took an oath to protect and preserve,” Ransom said.  “I should’ve called the police, but I’m the mayor. 

"Who better to stand up against crime than the mayor?”


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