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SAVANNAH, Ga. — In the wake of a police-involved shooting over the weekend, a city official addressed concerns regarding public safety in Savannah.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation provided details, noting that Savannah Police Officers were dispatched following a 911 call about a 23-year-old local man, identified as Malik Hendrix, who was reportedly chasing a woman from an apartment.
Upon arrival, officers discovered evidence of a domestic altercation. Witnesses claimed that during the incident, a child had been thrown into a dumpster.
The officers then located the woman and her child together at the scene.
As the situation unfolded, Hendrix approached the officers. He refused to comply with commands to show his hands and suddenly pulled an object from his jacket, prompting three officers to discharge their weapons.
Hendrix was later transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The object was later identified as a phone.
Savannah District Two Alderman Detric Leggett and Mayor Van Johnson were on the scene on Saturday.
Leggett said he spoke to residents who said they are tired of the violence happening around the area.
He said city leaders are in conversation with the Housing Authority of Savannah to implement additional safety measures, like Flock cameras.
“Being that it is private, they should have private security,” said Leggett. “If not, they should have a memorandum of understanding from the city that states that we are allowed to come on their property.”
He said he also plans on viewing the body camera footage once released, to make sure police followed correct protocol.
“We want to definitely be at the forefront of conversations and make sure that the public knows that they are safe,” said Leggett. “We’re going to actually work on their behalf and also let them know if an officer or anybody does something wrong, they’re going to be held accountable.”
He said he’s worried for young people who are witnessing the violence. He said he hopes they don’t develop post-traumatic stress disorder or become too desensitized to crime.
“I want the kids that grew up underneath us and the next generation to know that when you see crime, the way crime is, the crime that they grew up seeing is not acceptable,” said Leggett.
GBI said it is still investigating this case.