Mayor defends police communication after Savannah murder-suicide standoff

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - A murder-suicide left two men dead near East Broad Street in Savannah, following a police standoff that shut down several blocks for hours.

During the multi-hour standoff, no notification was sent out to the public to alert about the Anderson street closure.

Police describe response

Savannah Police Chief Lenny Gunther said additional resources arrived during the standoff.

“Other resources arrived on scene, including Savannah police SWAT team, hostage negotiations team and other agencies,” Gunther said.

After police obtained a search warrant, SWAT entered the house and found the suspect dead from a self-inflicted injury.

Mayor questions on public notification

During the hours it took to obtain the warrant, WTOC received broad information from officials on the scene. Savannah Mayor Van Johnson was present during the latter end of the standoff after a city council meeting.

When asked why the public was not alerted during the two-hour period, Johnson said, “We notified individuals as we were able to notify them.”

Savannah Police public information policy states that SPD will post details to the public on social media if a critical incident occurs. As of this report, no post regarding the incident had been made.

Johnson addressed the department’s use of social media platform X.

“Well I don’t think that’s the most effective means, I don’t think X is the best place,” Johnson said.

“You received it also from aldermen, so the fact is you received information from the city of Savannah,” Johnson said. “Is it as coordinated as we’d like it to be? Perhaps not, but the fact is you received information.”

Chief addresses media after standoff

After the standoff ended, Gunther spoke with media. Johnson said any information provided before Gunther’s interview would have been “purely speculation.”

Earlier this week, SPD’s communication practices were discussed with Alderman Kurtis Purtee, who pointed to the department’s staffing problems.

Those staffing issues were brought to city council and the mayor’s attention in February. At the time of the meeting, there were 98 vacant slots at SPD.

Johnson said he does not believe the staffing issues have caused concern with the department’s public information officers.

“They’re trying to ascertain the information, they’re dealing with that,” Johnson said. “When we had the information to share, we shared the information.”