ATLANTA POLICE TARGET DRUG-INFESTED AREAS IN CRIME SWEEP

Responding to residents' calls for action, about 60 police officers
and two specially trained dogs swept through two known drug areas in
northwest Atlanta on Saturday in hopes of capturing drug dealers,
fugitives and gang members.

With media along for the ride, officers made eight public arrests
just before sundown in what APD spokeswoman Judy Pal called "an
obvious showing that the police are here to support the community."

"The reason we're doing this is the community wanted us to come out
here because they are tired of the thugs and criminality," Pal said.

The APD's first stop was an apartment complex in the shadow of the
Georgia Dome. A wanted man and two suspected drug dealers were
arrested on the street along the Vine City Terrace Apartments. Police
found almost three dozen bags of hashish and marijuana packaged for
$10 sales.

From there, a convoy of blue Atlanta Police cars, accompanied by six
media vans and trucks and a Journal-Constitution reporter, moved to
Bowen Homes, a public housing complex on Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway
just inside the Perimeter to the west of downtown.

People scattered when the police arrived.

About midday Saturday, marked and unmarked police cars and uniformed
and plain-clothes officers began to gather under a bridge near the
Georgia Dome. There were officers from APD's zone 1 and from the Red
Dog, drug, gangs, fugitive and auto theft units.

About 90 minutes later, they were told to move to an apartment
complex on Magnolia Street, two blocks from the Vine City mini police
precinct.

Those caught on the street were lined up to be photographed - their
faces as well as any tattoos - before most of them were allowed to
leave. Many of them made calls on their cellphones as they walked
away from those still being checked by police.

Pal said three arrests were made at the apartment complex, two for
selling drugs and one on an outstanding warrant. Police, with the
help of a black Labrador retriever and a German shepherd, found drugs
on the grounds.

The names of those arrested were not immediately available, and Pal
said APD was not releasing the gang affiliations because it did not
want to encourage the groups or give them bragging rights when their
names are in the media.

At Bowen Homes, police crashed into the public housing complex, a
known drug market. Though police were still processing the people
they had caught there, they'd arrested five men by nightfall - four
for drugs and one for driving a stolen car.

"A lot of citizens have been complaining about gang members and drug
activity and crime activity in that area so we are trying to assist
them in taking the community back," officer Ronald Campbell said.