The Americus Sumter Observer has been getting calls about Detective Alphonso Ross, a

Black detective, with the city of Americus police department who has been unduly hard on

Black citizens of this county. We began investigating some of these allegations and found that

Detective Ross has a pattern of condemnation against Blacks but not against White citizens of

this county.

Our newspaper reported the child spanking case of former NAACP vice president, Craig

Walker, who was arrested by Detective Ross last year. Walker was charged with child cruelty

in the first degree. The child had no broken skin following the spanking; there was no

hospitalization or a doctor visit.

Craig Walker had to spend a night in jail and the local newspaper plastered him on their front

page like a common criminal. Ross knows Craig Walker from the battles between Walker

and Ross' former police Chief Michael Yates. Ross was promoted under Yates while Walker

was instrumental in getting Yates run out of Americus, GA.

The system is so coordinated when it comes to getting even with a community activist like

Walker; the District Attorney Cecilia Cooper managed to get an indictment against Craig

Walker on such a weak case. Recently, Detective Alphonso Ross went after another Black

citizen. Gerald Whitehead, a local fireman and former Sheriff's deputy of Sumter County,

who was charged with touching a White girl inappropriately.

She was the daughter of one of the firemen who worked with Whitehead. The jury found Whitehead not guilty of the charges. During the court proceedings,

an observer told us that Ross had interviewed the White girl and was called to the stand to testify against Whitehead.

We were told that Ross shouted out from the stand, "yes he did it, yes he [Whitehead] did it." So the defense attorney for Whitehead asked Ross if he was present when Whitehead did it. Of course he was not present. The attorney asked another question, "If I told you I had a million dollars in my pocket would you believe it?" Ross looked like a fool, according to one in attendance. Finally, Ross was caught condemning another Black citizen who was a top officer in the Americus Police Department. Police Chief James Green forced the resignation of Kisha Burdwell for very suspicious and questionable reasons. She took a test in the department and scored higher than all of her fellow officers including Detective Alphonso Ross. She was passed over for promotion while the lower scoring officers were promoted including Ross.

The strangest thing in this situation was the fact that Burdwell had to take the police department to court to get her scores which was highly unusual. So a hearing was held to determine the fate of officer Burdwell. Ross was called to testify and of course he "raked her over the coals" says NAACP president Matt Wright who was in attendance. She was allowed to resign from her position.

Again, Ross participated in yet another situation where he denounced and condemned the Black citizens who were all innocent. We could see it if Ross went after some hardened guilty criminals, but he went after three upstanding citizens. "He is a dangerous Black man and he is setting himself up for a crashing fall, says Dr John Marshall, former NAACP president.

We have seen this type of spineless Uncle Tom who wants to please his superiors so badly that he will stomp on any Black to score points. You rarely see

this type of Brother take action against Whites. But they all have to come back home to the Black community when the racist master is finished with him."

In our inquiries, several citizens spoke of Ross' attendance to several local churches and how he praises God like a real Christian but his spirituality apparently stops at the church door because he has become a terror in our Black community. This is what a little bit of power in the wrong hands can do. May God have mercy on Detective Alphonso Ross, says Marshall.