Jump to content

Poulan, Georgia

Coordinates: 31°30′49″N 83°47′28″W / 31.51361°N 83.79111°W / 31.51361; -83.79111
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Poulan, Georgia
City
Poulan City Hall and Police Station
Poulan City Hall and Police Station
Location in Worth County and the state of Georgia
Location in Worth County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates: 31°30′49″N 83°47′28″W / 31.51361°N 83.79111°W / 31.51361; -83.79111
CountryUnited States
StateGeorgia
CountyWorth
Area
[1]
 • Total1.67 sq mi (4.33 km2)
 • Land1.67 sq mi (4.33 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
381 ft (116 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total760
 • Density454.27/sq mi (175.36/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
31781
Area code229
FIPS code13-62496[2]
GNIS feature ID0321100[3]
Websitewww.cityofpoulan.com
Library, on the National Register of Historic Places

Poulan is a city in Worth County, Georgia, United States. The population was 780 in 2020.

Poulan is part of the Albany, Georgia metropolitan statistical area.

Poulan is notable for its police department's speed trap tactics from 2006 to 2012.[4][5][6] In 2009 Poulan's small police force generated nearly $900,000 from fines and fees, a number comparable to a city 30 times its size and due to the charges and fees being more than most cities. The per capita revenue from fines and fees is $1,019.15.[7]

Poulan Police Department was discussed in a 2024 multi part YouTube interview with a former officer who detailed speed trap tactics (including citation quotas), theft of evidence from an evidence locker, and multiple falsified police reports and other fabricated documentation and wrongdoing by police leadership.[8][9]

History

[edit]

The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Poulan as a town in 1889.[10] The city was named for Judge W.A. Poulan.[11] The remnants of what was once a bank and pharmacy are still standing on Broad Street[12]. Poulan is also home to the only two historical registered properties in Worth County; the Poulan Library and Possum Poke[13]. Poulan was settled in 1877 along the Brunswick and Albany railroad[14].

Controversy

[edit]

The Poulan Police Department has been featured in numerous articles by investigative journalists, most notably for it's speed trap tactics since 2009.[15][16][17] The city attorney; former Albany, GA Mayor Tommy Coleman[18]; has repeatedly defended the enforcement tactics, as well as the Poulan and Warwick Police Departments.[19][20]

Between 2008 and 2012 Poulan is estimated to have received $1,676,402.80 (a per-capita amount of $2,012.49) from their Police Department's tactics inside the Poulan city limits on U.S. Route 82 (GA State Route 520).[21] Residents of Poulan have publicly voiced their concern over their police department's tactics multiple times with department leadership specifically denying quotas for summons and citations for traffic related offenses[22][23].

In September of 2012, then Poulan Mayor, Dustin Grubbs, was arrested in Dougherty County and charged with felony possession of various narcotic prescription pills[24] including oxycodone, oxycontin, and two different mixtures of Vicodin in different dosages with a total prescription pill count of 57. The arrest showcased the continued synthetic opioid epidemic in the United States[25]. Despite the charges, Grubbs remained the Mayor of Poulan until his untimely death in October of 2020[26].

In 2014, a local resident of Poulan placed a sign that warned drivers traveling on U.S. Route 82 (GA State Route 520) of the speed trap tactics. A local NBC/ABC affiliate in Albany, GA; WALB; featured a story on the resident who claimed that Poulan Police Officers were given specific quotas. Poulan Police Chief, Larry Whisenant[27], explicitly refuted this claim and denied that any officers were given quotas[28] for speeding citations.

In 2023, local NBC/ABC affiliate WALB produced a report about the Poulan Police Department and showcased the continuous speed trap tactics that the Police Department continues to use[29]. The report calculated that the Poulan Police Department produced more income than the cost of the agency to the city's budget[30]. Poulan Police commanders were specifically asked for documents showing the amount of income received from speeding related citations. According to the article, Poulan "declined to comment"[31]. According to Georgia law, a county or municipal law enforcement agency's budget may not exceed 35% of it's annual budget from speeding related fines[32].

In 2024 YouTuber DG Hamblin[33], a styled "constitutional conservative" and retired GA law enforcement officer,[34], interviewed a former Poulan Police Officer in August 2024 on The DG Hamblin Show. During the interview the officer shared details regarding speed trap tactics, quotas for summons and citations, theft and tampering of evidence by police commanders, falsified police reports, and general graft by commanders and city officials. DG Hamblin also released redacted documents that included audio, text messages, and reports[35][36].

Geography

[edit]

Poulan is located at 31°30′49″N 83°47′28″W / 31.51361°N 83.79111°W / 31.51361; -83.79111 (31.513739, -83.791041).[37] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.7 square miles (4.3 km2), all land.

Demographics

[edit]
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1900474—
191065237.6%
1920586−10.1%
19306114.3%
19406709.7%
195075011.9%
1960736−1.9%
19707664.1%
19808186.8%
199096217.6%
2000946−1.7%
2010851−10.0%
2020760−10.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[38]

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 946 people, 365 households, and 273 families residing in the city. By 2020, its population declined to 760.

Notable people

[edit]
  • Howell T. Heflin, who became a U.S. Senator from Alabama, was born in Poulan in 1921. At that time Heflin's father was serving as a Methodist minister in Poulan. The Heflin family remained there for only a short time before returning to their native Alabama.
  • Chase Osborn was Governor of Michigan from 1911 to 1913. He resided at Possum Poke in Poulan and died there in 1949.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  3. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  4. ^ Simmons, Andria (October 22, 2014). "Some rural Georgia towns policing for profit". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020. Take the example of Poulan (pronounced PO-lan), where officials claim to have seen the error of their ways. The town of 833 took in $1.67 million in ticket revenue between 2008 and 2012, but the income has fallen steadily since then....In the case of Poulan, GDOT raised the limit after receiving numerous complaints about it being a speed trap, Dale said.
  5. ^ "'Speed Trap' sign stirs up Poulan area". walb.com. August 5, 2014. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020.
  6. ^ Smith, Romney (July 17, 2013). "FOX 31 investigates: Are there speed traps in Poulan?". WFXL. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  7. ^ "Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Office of Research: 2009 Municipal Revenues from Fines, Forfeitures and Court Fees as a Percentage of Own Source Revenues" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 21, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
  8. ^ DG Hamblin (August 5, 2024). What happened with Poulan Police Department?. Retrieved August 18, 2024 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ DG Hamblin (August 12, 2024). What happened with Poulan PD (part two). Retrieved August 18, 2024 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ Acts Passed by the General Assembly of Georgia. J. Johnston. 1899. p. 265.
  11. ^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 180. ISBN 0-915430-00-2.
  12. ^ "City of Poulan". City of Poulan. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  13. ^ "City of Poulan". City of Poulan. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  14. ^ "City of Poulan". City of Poulan. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  15. ^ Worsley, Jamie (December 28, 2023). "WALB Investigates two towns some refer to as 'speed traps'". www.walb.com. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  16. ^ undefined. "Some rural Georgia towns policing for profit". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  17. ^ Pierrotti, Andy (July 22, 2024). "Nearly 73% of this city's budget comes from traffic tickets". www.atlantanewsfirst.com. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  18. ^ reports, From staff (July 22, 2021). "Tommy, Flin Coleman join Atlanta-based Drew Eckl & Farnham law firm". Albany Herald. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  19. ^ Smith, Romney (July 17, 2013). "FOX 31 investigates: Are there speed traps in Poulan?". WFXL. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  20. ^ Worsley, Jamie (July 25, 2024). "Warwick city attorney says, "People aren't going to believe this"". www.walb.com. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  21. ^ "Database: Georgia's biggest ticket traps". ajc. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  22. ^ "'Speed Trap' sign stirs up Poulan area". www.walb.com. August 6, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  23. ^ "'Speed Trap' sign may return to Poulan". www.walb.com. August 16, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  24. ^ Wallace, Jim (September 7, 2012). "Poulan Mayor arrested on drug charges". https://www.walb.com. Retrieved August 25, 2024. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  25. ^ Wallace, Jim (September 7, 2012). "Poulan Mayor arrested on drug charges". https://www.walb.com. Retrieved August 25, 2024. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  26. ^ Team, WALB News (October 12, 2020). "Poulan mayor dies". https://www.walb.com. Retrieved August 25, 2024. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  27. ^ "Poulan Police Department". City of Poulan. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  28. ^ "'Speed Trap' sign stirs up Poulan area". https://www.walb.com. August 6, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2024. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  29. ^ Worsley, Jamie (December 28, 2023). "WALB Investigates two towns some refer to as 'speed traps'". https://www.walb.com. Retrieved August 25, 2024. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  30. ^ Worsley, Jamie (December 28, 2023). "WALB Investigates two towns some refer to as 'speed traps'". https://www.walb.com. Retrieved August 25, 2024. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  31. ^ Worsley, Jamie (December 28, 2023). "WALB Investigates two towns some refer to as 'speed traps'". https://www.walb.com. Retrieved August 25, 2024. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  32. ^ "2018 Georgia Code :: Title 40 - Motor Vehicles and Traffic :: Chapter 14 - Use of Speed Detection Devices and Red Light Cameras :: Article 2 - Speed Detection Devices :: § 40-14-11. Investigations by commissioner of public safety; issuance of order suspending or revoking permit; ratio of speeding fines to agency's budget". Justia Law. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  33. ^ "DG Hamblin". YouTube. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  34. ^ "DG Hamblin". YouTube. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  35. ^ DG Hamblin (August 5, 2024). What happened with Poulan Police Department?. Retrieved August 18, 2024 – via YouTube.
  36. ^ DG Hamblin (August 12, 2024). What happened with Poulan PD (part two). Retrieved August 18, 2024 – via YouTube.
  37. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  38. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Poulan,_Georgia&oldid=1242271802"