Last week, the Fulton County sheriff’s office initiated a “warrant round-up” action that specifically targeted domestic violence offenders. The first ever of its type, the arrest initiative was called Operation: Take a Stand. The Operation was initiated to honor Fulton County Deputy Sheriff Shakeema Brown Jackson. As the second anniversary of Jackson’s death approaches, “her former colleagues at the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office are trying to keep her memory alive by getting domestic violence offenders off the streets.”
Captain Nevel Phillips explained to FOX 5 the inspiration and motivation of Operation: Take a Stand, inspired, at least in part, to honor Deputy Jackson. “For something that hits so close to home with one of our own being a victim of domestic violence, we wanted to make sure we are doing our part as an agency to combat domestic violence—not just for her but for all victims.”
Operation: Take a Stand led to the arrest of 17 people who had outstanding arrest warrants for crimes of domestic violence. “Brown Jackson and her brother were shot and killed Oct. 27, 2021, in Newton County by her husband, Jaquavia Jackson.” Described as a “tough loss for the department,” Phillips described how the tragic event became the motivation for this “warrant round-up.” Phillips added: “Her loss is something that we continue to feel.”
Of the 17 people deputies took into custody on Oct. 19, “eleven were individuals with outstanding warrants for assault and battery charges.” Charges for the other six offenders ranged from burglary to sex offender absconder to unlawful possession of drugs and weapons. Photos of nine of the people arrested can be seen here.
Phillips explained the methodical preparation for and implementation of the round-up. “We took our warrant backlog and found all the domestic violence related cases…we went out and executed as many warrants as we could.” The scope of the operation impacted more than domestic violence cases. “We also got drugs off the street, a weapon out of a convicted felon’s hands and some other people were also caught up,” Phillips added.
Nothing can bring back Deputy Jackson, Phillips acknowledged, but, he exclaimed, “the initiative might save someone else’s life.”
