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Athens 911 first in state with Uber Integration

Athens has become the first 911 operating system in the state of Georgia to be outfitted with Uber integrations to assist local police in the safety of its users. From the Athens-Clark County Police Department: Uber has expanded its 9-1-1 information sharing program to include Athens-Clarke County. With this sharing program, when a rider or driver uses the Uber in-app emergency button to contact 911 operators, key trip details that can be used to help respond to an emergency will now be transmitted automatically to 9-1-1 dispatchers in Athens-Clarke County. The ACC 9-1-1 Center is the first in the state of Georgia to have this Uber integration. This Uber integration relies on another ACCPD partnership established earlier in the year. In January, the Athens-Clarke County 9-1-1 Center, commonly called Central Communications, partnered with RapidSOS, an emergency communications technology company. Through RapidSOS, Central Communications has access to the NG911 Clearinghouse which receives data from the Internet of Things (smartphones, connected cars, wearables, and connected homes) and securely sends the relevant data to 9-1-1 and first responders. “In Athens-Clarke County, it is important to get help to individuals during an emergency quickly. In some cases the caller may not be able to give accurate information about their location or may not be able to communicate at all. This technology will help 9-1-1 call takers get emergency services personnel to individuals in need by more quickly pinpointing their location,” said Captain Keith Kelley with the 9-1-1 Communications Center. Previously, riders and drivers have been able to see their GPS location and vehicle details (make, model, color, and license plate) in the app when they press Uber’s emergency button to call 9-1-1. With this new technology, those details will be sent to 9-1-1 dispatchers electronically in Athens-Clarke County. “We believe technology can help make the roads safer. This feature is available in more than 60 cities, and we are proud to add Athens-Clarke County, to the growing list of cities and counties using this technology,” said Krishnaja Gutta, Uber Product Safety Manager. “Every second counts in an emergency, and we want to make sure Uber users have important information to get help quickly if faced with an emergency situation.' The NG911 Clearinghouse is a centralized and secure location information server that is purpose-built for Next Generation 9-1-1. To learn more about RapidSOS and the NG911 Clearinghouse, visit https://rapidsos.com/ng911clearinghouse/. Visit https://www.uber.com/newsroom/emergencybutton/ to learn more about Uber’s Emergency Button.

Police probe death in Athens, former Hall Co teacher arrested on sex charges

An autopsy shows no immediate indications of foul play in the death of an Athens man whose body was found earlier this week in woods off Tallassee Road: William Quigley was 53 years old. There is still no word on cause of death. The execution of a Barrow County man is scheduled for one week from today. The state Board of Pardons and Paroles will hold clemency hearings in the case of Scotty Morrow, who is on death row at the state prison in Jackson for the murders of two Gainesville women who were shot and killed in 1994. There are sex charges for a Murrayville man: the Hall County Sheriff’s Office says 26 year-old Taylor Guthrie (pictured above) was a teacher at Chestatee High School. He’s accused of sending unlawful and inappropriate text messages to one of his 16 year-old students. Taylor was booked into and has since bonded out of the Hall County jail. Emani Moss, acting as her own attorney in her death penalty case, waived her opening statement Wednesday in Lawrenceville. Moss is charged in the starvation death of her 10 year-old daughter in 2013. The trial is taking place in Gwinnett County Superior Court.

Women in public safety conference convenes in Athens

The Georgia Association of Women in Public Safety conference is underway today in Athens: the conference that brings together women police officers, firefighters, and other first responders is taking place at the Georgia Center. From the Association website… The Georgia Association of Women in Public Safety (GAWPS) was created with a vision to provide professional growth opportunities for women that are employed in fire, law enforcement, or emergency communication services in the state of Georgia through mentoring, networking, and training. GAWPS is a non-profit organization sponsored and administered directly by public safety practitioners. Our mission is to create opportunities that facilitate professional growth through training, education, and mentoring for women in Public Safety in the State of Georgia. The general purpose of the Georgia Association of Women in Public Safety is to promote the achievements and needs of women in public safety; to provide an environment that encourages growth, professional development and success for women across public safety disciplines through education and networking opportunities; serve as an identifiable resource for public safety leaders seeking solutions for recruiting, retention, career development, and promotional opportunities.

2019 Home Makeover

Jamie Dupree's Washington Insider

Contradicting ex-aide, Trump denies he ordered firing of Mueller Directly challenging the findings of the Mueller Report and the testimony of a former top aide, President Donald Trump on Thursday flatly denied that he ordered ex-White House Counsel Don McGahn to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller in 2017, just weeks after Mueller had been appointed to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 elections. 'As has been incorrectly reported by the Fake News Media, I never told then White House Counsel Don McGahn to fire Robert Mueller,' President Trump wrote on Twitter. The President's comments on Thursday were part of another series of social media volleys against the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections, as Mr. Trump again proclaimed his exoneration by the Mueller Report, while at the same time disputing some of the evidence and conclusions. On Twitter, the President said, 'the end result was No Collusion, No Obstruction.' But the details of the Mueller Report paint a starkly different picture on the question of whether the President sought to fire Special Counsel Mueller, as Mr. Trump's claims run directly counter to the testimony of McGahn and other aides and advisers. McGahn, who reportedly spoke with investigators for 30 hours about the Russia investigation, testified that the President called him on June 17, 2017 - about a month after Mueller had been named as Special Counsel - and pressed for Mueller to be ousted, an order that McGahn repeatedly ignored. 'McGahn recalled the President telling him 'Mueller has to go' and 'Call me back when you do it,'' the Mueller report described on page 300. 'McGahn is a credible witness with no motive to lie or exaggerate given the position he held in the White House,' Mueller concluded, saying there was 'substantial evidence' that President Trump 'in fact directed McGahn to call (Rod) Rosenstein to have the Special Counsel removed.' The Mueller Report also says that after news reports surfaced in 2018 that the President had ordered the firing of Mueller, McGahn was asked to publicly dispute those reports - and McGahn refused. 'McGahn told (White House aide Rob) Porter that the President had been insistent on firing the Special Counsel,' as McGahn testified that he told Porter the media reports were true. McGahn testified that President Trump had talked of 'knocking out Mueller' as early as a May 23, 2017 telephone call, just days after Mueller had been named as the Special Counsel. The report says the President discussed firing Mueller with a number of people - not just McGahn - including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, as well as White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and top aide Steve Bannon. 'You gotta do this,' McGahn quoted the President as saying, as footnotes in the Mueller Report refer not only to McGahn's own notes and phone logs, but also calls listed in the 'President's Daily Diary.' The President's tweets came as the White House is reportedly raising objections to possible testimony before Congress by McGahn - the House Judiciary Committee has already sent McGahn a subpoena for a May 21 appearance. Democrats said the basic question is simple - either McGahn or the President is telling the truth - but not both of them. 'Trump now claims that White House Counsel Don McGahn lied under oath to the Special Counsel,' said Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), as Democrats immediately questioned the President's claim about McGahn. 'And if you aren't lying, then why are you preventing Don McGahn from testifying?' tweeted Rep. Ted Lieu (D-VA).

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