Woman arrested for Disorderly Conduct at Clayton City Hall

A woman was arrested for disorderly conduct after complaining about a bill at Clayton City Hall.  Around 9am on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020, 49-year-old Sarah Lamar Connell of Clayton began yelling in an aggressive manner at the clerk of the Clayton Utility Billing Office.  Clayton Police Chief Andy Strait gives details. “So, we had a resident that is fairly new to the city. She was frustrated with her trash pick up, which the city contracts out, and she came in and was overly aggressive with the clerk at City Hall.  The clerk did a very good job of trying to deescalate the situation and calm the lady but she continued to be aggressive. She literally went over the counter at the clerk, pointing her finger at her, and we were called over. Officer Kessiah Gibson responded over and also tried to deescalate the situation by talking to the lady and trying to escort her outside to talk to her, but it just wasn’t something she was going to do.  So basically, she was arrested for disorderly conduct and it became worse by becoming a physical struggle and escorted off the property and taken to jail. The security procedures that the city is going to have put in place I’m not aware of yet. There were some things that were discussed in regard to new security procedures. I believe a couple of cameras have been discussed over there and some new doors put in place to buzz people into the office, but I think right now the City Manager may have a better answer than I do but I think right now they are basically looking things over to see what would best serve the public and what would be most cost-efficient and secure for the city.  That is all I have been made aware of at this time. I do believe they are working on some new security windows and some doors. It was just a bad situation that really could have been prevented by just the lady taking a moment and calming down and listening to what the clerk had to say. Unfortunately, in situations like that we sometimes get people that are just very frustrated and at their breaking point and unfortunately, it ended with an arrest.”  After being examined by EMS, she was transported to the Rabun County Detention Center for booking.  Connell was placed on criminal trespass notice from returning to Clayton City Hall or the Public Works building.