Racist Neighbors Blamed For Cops Crashing BridgeMill Pool Party

CANTON, GA — The Cherokee Marshal's Office shut down a planned pool party in the BridgeMill community, and at least one person who helped plan the event is publicizing a slew of racist comments about the party made on a neighborhood Facebook group. Although authorities said the expected turnout was too big to be safe without police on hand, some people associated with the party claim the shutdown was spurred by resident complaints that people of color would visit the neighborhood and commit crimes under the guise of attending the party.

Officers received numerous 9-1-1 calls on June 23 of a "non-permitted event" at the pool in BridgeMill, the massive master planned community west of Bells Ferry Road and bordered by Allatoona Lake near Canton. Event promoter Quincy Truitt told authorities he rented the facility and "was told by BridgeMill officials that he did not need a permit," the marshal's office said.

"Better be prepared for the thugs and drugs tonight and break ins in your home," one Facebook commenter wrote. This same person, who referred to the group as "hood n------" in another comment, said, "I will be there in my Klan suit," according to Facebook posts.

With organizers expecting 700 people to attend and with no special event permit on hand, the marshal's office said it decided to shut down the gathering. The promoter and those associated with the event, the agency added, were "cooperative with law enforcement."

“I made the decision to cancel the event," said Chief Marshal Ron Hunton. "The special event application process is in place for just such events. The application process allows for public safety to plan for the event addressing such issues as traffic and crowd control, fire and EMS response and other matters concerning public safety. To allow an event like this, with the numbers expected, to take place with no public safety planning would be inherently unsafe.”

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However, while the closure was viewed as a disappointment, one of the party's planners is shining a spotlight to the reaction of those who shared their feelings in a social media group reserved for members of the community.

In a public Facebook post, Brandon Wilson said he was part of a group of "business professionals" who planned the party at the BridgeMill Athletic Club, a venue he was told could accommodate 2,000 people. "This wasn’t a spur of the moment, pop-up type party," he said. "But one that had almost a year worth of planning."

The specific details of what goes into planning an event like this had already been handled, Wilson, an EMR developer who installs patient records software used by medical professionals, said. So when the party-goers arrived, sheriff's deputies and the marshal's office were called in by residents "saying they wanted the party stopped."

"Now I can understand to a certain extent if you’re worried about noise and issue such as that, but as some of us looked up the neighborhood on Facebook and saw there was a message board, the messages we saw showed that none of those things were the problem," he said. "In fact, we saw something completely different. We saw that the only issue was the fact that we were of color."

According to screenshots shared by Wilson, some members of the group called those attending the party as "thugs" and racial slurs for African-Americans who would return to the neighborhood to commit burglaries.

Resident Bryan Wilkerson, to whom the Facebook slurs and Klan references were attributed, told Patch his account was hacked. Wilkerson, a supporter of President Donald Trump, said he believes his backing of the commander-in-chief is the "only reason I can think of as to why my account was hacked."

"I am not racist and do not agree with the comments that were made in my name," he said. "I apologize to the black Americans who were offended by statements made in my name, but that is not how I feel and not the type of person I am, regardless of my political views."

Other comments shown in the screenshots also show some residents commenting about how dirty the pool would be after the party, with one person saying, "Yuck. I don't think I'd go to the pool for a while after that."

Wilson said it was "crazy" how those residents didn't even view the party-goers as people who just wanted to have a good time. The BridgeMill location, he added, was chosen because it's previously hosted parties attended by hundreds of people.

Another screenshot shared by Wilson shows the BridgeMill Community Association emailing its residents to inform them the party had been shut down by the marshal's office "due to the very large number of expected people at the pool."

"The BridgeMill Community Association has asked for extra patrols in our area," the message said. "Please use caution while driving or walking and be vigilant of your surroundings. If you see anything suspicious, please contact the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office immediately."

Jim Haslam, president of HMS Golf, which owns the BridgeMill Athletic Club, said he accepts "full responsibility" for approving the event, which was communicated to him and the club staff as a "birthday celebration to raise money for charity." The club said it was not aware of promotional materials or that the event was being publicized. On June 23, the club was notified by the Marshal's Office that the event would be shut down since the organizer did not obtain the permit.

"I wholeheartedly understand the concerns that have been expressed regarding Saturday’s event and want to assure you that the club’s policies and procedures for the booking of private parties are being reviewed and revised," Haslam said in his prepared message. "Furthermore, we have removed an unauthorized Facebook page that appeared to be commenting on behalf of the club. This page expressed opinions and an unacceptable attitude that was not indicative of or condoned by the club."

Haslam said he will continue to make himself available to club members who want to discuss the incident and to answer any questions they may have. The club will also post future pool updates on the official BridgeMill Athletic Club Facebook page.

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