Officials address community concerns after Six Flags tragedy

Good afternoon, everyone. I appreciate all of you being here today to talk about a very significant event in our community. It was important to me to provide some human texture to this event beyond some of the statements that I've seen to let people know just how gripped we are by this and all of our interest in seeing the outcome of the investigations for the safety of our community moving forward. I'm joined today by Chief Ballard and representatives of the Cobb County Police Department. I'm sorry, sir. Captain Benz, also, who's here with me today, and thank you both for representing Cobb County Police. On Monday, a terrible tragedy happened at Six Flags Over Georgia here in Cobb County. A man lost his life and others were injured. I said that day, I can only imagine the horror for those who are at the park, for the family, for those who witnessed the event, the employees, and still four days later that remains true. First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family of Mr. Hassan Kareem, who just at 42 years old, according to reports, was an educator, an IT professional, someone who was beloved by his family and his students, and who was known to his community to be dedicated to his students as well. My heart aches for him and his family who are going through this very terrible time. I also want to recognize, again, the pain of the people who were present, the guests who saw what happened and the Six Flags employees who were present in the worst moment of their working lives, and also to the members of our public safety who first responded to that tragedy, and our entire community is still carrying the weight of this matter. So again, we're here today to provide some human context to this, to let you know just how impacted we are, to give you some context also on public safety's response, and to make sure that our residents know that we are taking this matter seriously. I also want to be clear about one thing is that we are not announcing any investigative findings today, that those investigations are still active and the agencies responsible still need time and space to do their work thoroughly and without our speculation. Our county is committed to the safety of our residents and our visitors and our workforce, and this is our priority, again, for the entire county and for me as chairwoman. And we will share information with you that's been verified when it is appropriate. And we will also respect the integrity investigations that are occurring in the state office, as well as respecting the privacy of those who've been impacted. it. Certainly people want to know what happened and what it means going forward, and I believe that those are fair questions. And residents, visitors, our community deserves a fact-based review, a thorough review with clear answers when the responsible agencies are able to give them. So a little bit about who was investigating what. Our Cobb County police officers responded immediately to the scene. And we had detectives with major crimes who were leading the law enforcement investigation into the circumstances of this incident. But the investigation of the equipment at the park is separate from that. And the Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety and Fire is reviewing the regulatory compliance of the park, including whether or not state requirements were followed and those agencies or that agency excuse me is responsible for coordinating with the park the investigations that are on site. The state has confirmed that Goliath remains secured and out of service and it is my understanding that the park intends to open today. Any decision about whether when and under what conditions the actual ride will begin operating again will be up to the park and the insurance commissioner. With respect to our community, Six Flags is a significant part of our tourism landscape here in the county. There are few of us that can say that we have not been to the park at one point in time or another or our children haven't been there and so this impacts me and others quite personally, but it also impacts the employees who are there. It impacts our residents. It impacts the businesses that surround the park. Right now, though, our attention belongs to the people who were hurt and to the family that is still reeling by this very tragic incident that took place. At this moment, I know there's been some inquiry about economic impact of the investigations also that are occurring right now and we're just not in a position to talk about that. I can just encourage you to rely on the information that comes out of Commissioner King's office and I believe he put out a public statement recently. So just all in all, we know that you have questions. Our community has questions. I think we're all deserving of answers with respect to what has taken place and we're all deserving of some compassion because no one could have anticipated that something this grave would occur here and we will continue to work with anyone as requested of us which includes our state partners or the park. I'm going to turn things over now to our Deputy Chief Ballard to explain the police department's role in the investigative process. Thank you. Good afternoon. Thank you for being here. So our role in this investigation, we investigate all deaths in unincorporated Cobb County. However, we're only assisting the state in this investigation. The state is the lead investigators in this case because we don't have the authority to inspect or investigate machinery at theme parks. We do document our involvement in this case and if there are no criminal charges we will close our case as soon as the state completes theirs and that's basically our involvement in this case thank you so we'll take any questions that you may have at this time yes ma'am what do you think of the park reopening yes we understand that they're reopening and that has been coordinated with the state we also know that there are a lot of questions still around what's taking place and just ask that people be sensitive to the information that's been put out by the park and also by the state and to use their their wisdom with respect to how they return to the park. Chairwoman Cupic can you talk about the police response that day I understand an officer was already on the ground when this happened can you tell us what that officer witnessed and how that officer is doing? I would need to defer to public safety with respect to that. Well at this moment in time uh we're not going to say what happened and what the person observed that day but we do have an amazing peer support and chaplain programs that basically deals with our officer wellness on our department that's all i can share at this moment in time what's the uh park visitors tonight what it what it will look like will it be blocked off of the actual ride the ride is closed for investigation yes ma'am but will it be clearly i know the ride stretches across land right there That I'm not sure because that's the state's involvement in this right now, so I'm not sure, but I know it is closed until their investigation is complete. Yes, ma'am. It appears from the images going out into the public that we have not even, and certainly they have not even, that when Kareem fell, it was toward the end of the ride. Can you speak to just the facts of at what point he fell? No, ma'am, I cannot because, again, the investigation is still open, and I do not at the time. I cannot share any of that information. But you mentioned that he was ejected. Is this not factual? Something that you could get a little bit more into? No, ma'am. Not at this time. I cannot. The brother in law told us he passed out before he flew off the ride. Um, what's your response to that? Or can you share anything about that? Or if you all even received that information at that? I'm not sure if we received that information, ma'am. So I cannot comment on that. Again, I would just like to reiterate that anything that pertains to that event, as that gentleman was experiencing the ride on that roller coaster, is beyond our ability to comment on today. And that investigation lies with the state and also with the park. Yes, sir. Fox 5. I guess the key is this is, before you were chairwoman, this was your district, right? Yes, sir. So you're close to a lot of these people. What do you want to say to reassure them that this is still safe and that they can still enjoy this park and still come and spend money in South Cobb? We pride ourselves in Cobb County being a safe community. However, safety within the park, a lot of that lies within the leadership of the park, and we understand that the state has regulatory authority over it. As people venture into the park property, it's important for them to be mindful of the statements that have been put out by both the park and the state and to use their judgment you know we certainly want everybody to enjoy the time that they're here in a safe way but to do so also requires discretion on each individual and how that occurs and we will do our best from our purview and our ability to make sure that we are providing a safe perspective or a safe community from the county's ability to do so but i would just ask each parent each child each patron to just be mindful of what's occurred be mindful of your experiences at the park and be mindful of the assertions that are being made by those that have authority over the safety of that park and judge how you'll move forward accordingly. Yes. I have not spoken with the family. Yes, ma'am. Certainly this is having a significant impact on them as well. And they provided a statement with respect to their path moving forward. But no one would have anticipated this occurring. This is a shock to all of our systems. And they want to assure us, I'm sure we want to make sure that we can best ensure the safety of all who are there. I do believe that they're doing the best to make sure that that's the case. The result and response has been to close the ride. Are you able to speak to the timeline of the investigation at all, vaguely? From Commissioner King's perspective, that would have to be from Commissioner King. We know the incident occurred on Monday. We know that we had officer that was on site that was able to respond immediately. We do know that there were investigations that ensued that day from Commissioner King's office and have been ongoing. You mentioned there's no criminal charges filed to close the case because the state is the lead investigator. What are you looking at to determine in regards to criminal charges? It all depends on the findings after the state, when they conclude their investigation, then that will pick up our investigation to go from there. So at this point, We don't know what type of charges we have at this point because it's still in the state's hands. So did that answer your question? Yeah, I guess who would be the source of criminal, who would face that? It all depends on what happened. If there's any type of intent, that's when the charges would occur. But, again, we don't know the full, we don't know all the information right now, so we're still waiting. And, again, we're just assisting the state at this point. So that's all. We're just kind of waiting until they're done with their investigation to conclude ours. I hope that answers your question. If this is still an ongoing investigation and information still being gathered, how can you really ensure that families are safe when they're getting on these roller coasters with so much limited information? Six Flags hasn't said anything about if they've done any additional checks before reopening. how can you ensure everyone will be okay yes as i shared before we're limited in our authority over evaluating the safety of equipment inside the park that really rests with the park and the insurance commissioner's office however we are very interested in what comes out of that investigation and Chairwoman Cupid I know you've you know been very vocal about how this It's such a tragedy, right? Yes. Knowing that children were injured, how does that make you feel as a parent? Admittedly, I used to live a screams distance from Six Flags. I mean, that's how personal this is, and my children have ventured there on numerous occasions. So what occurred is just unimaginable. And, again, it's not just for me. I know it's for many patrons who have been commenting on this. It's for the employees who are there. most certainly it's for its leadership and I will continue to be interested in what comes out of this and again just want the community to know that we take this to heart not just from a public safety perspective not just from a perspective of governance but from someone who's also a member of this community and who knows that this park has been in our community for generations and has provided funds to so many families, not just here within the county, but throughout the southeast region. And we recognize the vast impact that this has had on many people, the personal impact that this has had. And we are vested in what comes out of this investigation. All right. Thank you, guys. Appreciate it. Thank you.