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DESOTO – Place 6 Crystal Chism and Place 7 Letitia Hughes were not in attendance at Tuesday night’s city council meeting. Hughes was on a virtual call and able to comment and vote as necessary.
At the opening, Place 2 councilmember Pierette Parker wanted residents to be aware of a virtual public meeting on August 22 to discuss road construction off Parkerville and Hampton Road in the southern part of the city.
Resident Arthur Anderson spoke in public comment and said he had appeared before the council several times and was still waiting on answers he asked on April 16 and May 7. He said he has documented written correspondence “which has been routinely ignored.”
Anderson said, “We have a pattern of injustices being committed in DeSoto now with accountability and the lack of integrity on full display for the entire city. The officials who are responsible for serving the people ignore and deflect with no commitment to justice. Too many people in DeSoto have experienced injustices, and one of them is Dr. Dinah Marks, who is the rightful mayor pro tem.”
Anderson said, “Today, though, I want to address a repeated issue of people in this city being above the law and weaponizing the police.”
Anderson held up a document that was a police case where police were called for an allegation of assault that was listed as harassment. Names were not called, but Anderson said the document reported the incident was unfounded and the incident did not occur, and it appeared there was a false police report filed to have someone in the neighborhood arrested. He went on to explain this was similar to another case brought to the council based on a person who was claiming to be the victim of an assault with a gun, which was based on a false report on someone in the neighborhood to have them arrested after losing the election to the HOA Board of Directors.
“There was no evidence of any crime,” Anderson explained, as well as no motive, witness, or weapon, and the police report stated when they arrived at her 911 call, she was in the front yard watering her flowers. There was also another person in the neighborhood who said he had reported this same woman’s harassment on city property and at his home, and he was told he could not file a report against her and the police would “talk to her because they knew her.”
Anderson then asked why people with relationships with the chief of police, the mayor, and Councilmember Chism can make false reports, have people arrested, and not be held accountable?” He wanted to know what steps would be taken on this matter.
Tracy Nelson spoke during public comment and said she was discussing the possibility of the city partnering with Vesper to affect an energy storage facility at the corner of Eagle Drive and Westmoreland. “We are extremely opposed, so we have to speak to you and let you know we are going to do that at every opportunity.”
Bernadine Harrison spoke and mentioned she would be referring to Councilmember Place 5 Dr. Marks as the mayor pro tem “because you are the mayor pro tem under Roberts Rules of Order, and what I don’t quite understand is we have a city attorney here and I am sure we the people pay his salary and I do not understand why, if there is an issue, the attorney does not clarify that issue and share with us where we have gone wrong or perhaps where the mayor has gone wrong. As I said, this issue is not going to go away. We are still very upset about it, we followed the rules, came to a conclusion and then certain members of this body chose to change those rules at will. Again, I say you cannot do that.”
Harrison