Alvin Mason Should and Can Recover… If…
I often wonder if the average citizen has any earthly idea what kind of absolute havoc can be wrought by a simple phone call to the police.
Ask Augusta Commissioner Alvin Mason; he can tell you all about it.
Something happened between Al and his wife on the night of December 23. What exactly happened, I do not know, but I would be willing to bet it was not worth a call to the police, much less worth ruining his personal and professional reputation.
As I write this, I am not sure who made the call, and frankly it does not matter. When the lawman responded to the residence, Mason was not home, but his wife Velma was, and she reported to the officer that an altercation had taken place, and allegedly, that he “grabbed her neck and threw her against a wall.”
Folks, have you seen Al Mason? The police report lists him as 6’2 and 258 pounds, and I gotta say I think they are being kind. He is bigger, and I don’t mean “fatter,” I mean bigger.
Simply put, he is huge… some would say a giant. Okay, maybe only a short person would call him that, but still, he is a very tall and thick gentleman. Retired military guy, too, and not by many years. And while Velma is not exactly built like Twiggy, there is no way she would come out of a serious physical altercation with her husband without sporting a helluva lot worse than the “red marks and small cut” that was noted by the responding deputy.
But the severity of what the deputy saw does not come into play, because he saw something. State law mandates that an officer responding to a domestic violence call must write up a warrant on the apparent aggressor if there is any physical evidence that such violence actually occurred. That means if the “victim” has bruises from self-inflicted damage, or from altercation they started, it makes no difference. The law takes the decision to draw up that warrant out of the hands of local cops, basically saying, arrest the aggressor and let the judge figure it out.
That is fine if you are a garbage man or a barber being wrongly accused of such serious misbehavior, but if you are a public figure, it sucks pretty seriously.
I am told this particular piece of the Georgia state code (The Family Violence Act) has only been around a few years, but truth be told it was written up for one reason and one reason only: to prevent battered wives from allowing their tormenting husbands to get away with abuse because, after the bleeding stops, they refuse to press charges.
A noble cause to be sure (and yes, I am sure there are some husbands who are on the receiving end of such beatings), but it is a law that trips up many an innocent person who in no way, shape or form deserves to be prosecuted for domestic violence.
Mason’s political position inspired some to cry favoritism when it was learned the altercation occurred the 23rd, but he was not booked until the 27th. According to my information, that was the fault of a magistrate court clerk who was unsure their office had the legal authority to draw up such a warrant on a sitting commissioner. It was a legitimate question. There are several constitutional officer holders whose arrest requires a Superior Court judge signing off on the warrant and not just a Magistrate judge. Combine that question and a holiday weekend and you get a four-day delay. It was determined eventually that a warrant on a local commissioner did not require a higher ruling.
My sources tell me Alvin Mason was in constant contact with sheriff’s officials beginning the morning of the 24th, up until the paperwork was signed and it was time to be booked. He appeared for booking within an hour of being told to come in. They also tell me that Velma has explained they have fully reconciled and that she “regrets” the call to police.
As this story broke, the internet was full of anonymous idiots calling for Alvin’s head on a platter and planning the funeral for what was once a fine political career. Both conclusions are way out of line.
A man doesn’t start beating his wife at age 49. Mason has been a public figure for a long time, and there are plenty of folks who hate his guts. If there were anything in his background to suggest he is capable of such behavior, I think there would be a much bigger trail than one phone call to the cops after a heated holiday argument. In other words, I think a massive mountain has been made from a molehill.
If Mason and his wife come forward with a smile and an explanation, I say he gets over this thing and still runs for mayor. If he doesn’t come clean, or if there is another such episode… well hell… Charles Walker beat a future U.S. attorney (Ed Tarver) in a political race while under federal indictment. So who knows?You Might Also Like:
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