Can’t Take the Heat, Get Out the Kitchen
While returning from the Alliance Theater’s production of The Mountaintop with a friend, I had a disappointing encounter with yet another of MARTA’s police officers, this time at the MARTA Five Points Station. I thought this might shed some further light on why I struggle to understand how paving paradise and putting up a parking lot will help improve our LEOs here in Atlanta. I’m not sure how to fix a lack of human decency, and I’m going to bank on the fact that Atlanta is going to have to continue to do what she’s done for decades now- depend upon her citizen’s kindness because the system here can’t seem to figure it out. I originally shared this on my Facebook page and tagged Melissa Mullinax in this post, as a former boss of mine, and (at least according to her MARTA publicly posted bio) she’s “responsible for advancing GM/CEO’s vision and priorities around customer service and operational excellence“. As a result, she has blocked me on Facebook, which would be consistent with her previous boss, Mayor Kasim Reed. Old habits die hard, I suppose. I would also say attitude reflects leadership.
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Walking from my train on the Southbound platform at the Five Points station, coming home from seeing The Mountaintop at the Alliance Theatre, I see a man collapsing to the tiles amid a group of people.
They catch him, so his head doesn’t crack open. Lay him down, take off his shoes, and remove his hat and glasses. Someone asks to call 911. I speak up, and say, “I’ll call 911”, while the others talk to him.
He comes to. He speaks but is super pale. I’m speaking to 911 relaying what I see, where we are, how old he is, what does he look like, does he have a history of heart problems, and so on. They tell me not to give him food or water, roll him on his side if he begins to vomit, and I agree to stay with him. A young man, in a red Metro Diner T-shirt is speaking directly to the man laid out on the floor. He reminds me of a younger version of my husband- calmly asking questions, keeping the man talking, etc. A woman on the other side is also on her phone, I’m guessing placing another 911 call. Can’t hurt. Two men stand with us, who caught him-one at his head, one at his feet.
A MARTA employee walks up. She starts relaying the scene on her radio. She and I are looking around for EMS to arrive. Two MARTA police stroll along the Southbound lane as if they are walking along a boardwalk. She and I start calling to them. Only then do they show some urgency. I tell them 911 has been called.
They ask the man if he can walk, and help him to his feet. I watch this scene unfold without intervening and no one says anything to me. I ask the MARTA employee if I should stay because I called 911 and presumably EMS will eventually arrive. I offer to call 911 back to at least inform them that the person has walked off at the behest of MARTA police. She tells me the police will probably take him up to their break room, sit him down and get some fluids and food in him while they wait on the EMS.
“I don’t think so”
I say as I point to the two police officers, now walking in the opposite direction of the man. She and I watch as the police just walk away- unhurried, in the opposite direction of the man. She tells me thank you for staying and adds that this unbothered approach of the police happens a lot. She emphasized how grateful she was for me to stay.
I walk up to the westbound platform shaking my head and having difficulty wrapping my head around what I just watched. MARTA is single-tracking, so the Eastbound and Westbound trains are picking up passengers from the Westbound side. I see the young man with the Metro Diner T-shirt. We exchange names, shake hands, and say our goodbyes as we’re going in opposite directions. His train leaves for Indian Creek before mine arrives.
The platform clears, and I see the man who fell to the floor down the platform. It’s just him and me. This time, hunched over. I walk up, tell him I’m going Westbound, and if he doesn’t mind sharing with me his stop, I’ll ride with him until he gets there. His stop is at the end of the line. I send a text to Eric to let him know to pick me up there rather than the Ashby station. I ask him to bring some water with him and tell him that if this gentleman will let us, we’re going to take him to his door.
And that’s what we did.
I learned the man’s name, his home address, and told him that if my husband (or myself) was laid out at Five Points I would HOPE someone would make certain I made it home.
Because the MARTA police didn’t do shit.
When I write about the issues I see in Atlanta, I hope people know that it is with the systems we have, not the people. The people here will see about you. The cops won’t and no amount of a new training center can make up for the lack of human empathy those two officers demonstrated this evening. I do not have their badge numbers or their names because I honestly was in such shock at their total lack of care. But I do hope Melissa Mullinax takes the time to inquire after them. It was a memorable experience to say the very least.
