ATLANTA — The pastor of a church where fire officials abruptly removed 12 foster care kids says it was all done because of politics.
He says the state knew the kids were living there.
The county chairwoman told Channel 2’s Tom Jones that politics played no role, and the state thought the kids were living somewhere else.
We’ve been following this story since Tuesday, when Clayton County Fire and Emergency Services crews arrived at Now Faith Apostolic Church on Rex Road.
Pastor Dr. C.H. Braddy said fire officials came while the children were asleep.
“They woke them up with flashlights. ‘Get up. Get up,’” Brady said.
He said it was way out of line for fire officials and police to arrive late at night and remove the nine boys and three girls.
“These kids have special needs. That’s trauma,” Braddy said.
Braddy believes it was all done -- not for the kids’ safety -- but for political reasons.
“This is not politics. Those kids, they don’t have a vote,” he told Jones in the church’s sanctuary.
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Fire inspectors said they removed the teens because the church doesn’t meet the requirements for a boarding home. And its fire safety systems didn’t meet code for such a home.
The church received five citations.
Braddy believes the kids would still be living at the church if he still supported County Chairwoman Alieka Anderson Henry.
“I’m not giving you any more money,” he said of the campaign contributions to the chairwoman. “We’ve been under attack since.”
The chairwoman said she had nothing to do with the inspection of the church and the kids’ removal.
Henry said she hasn’t spoken to Braddy in more than a year.
She said the Department of Family and Children Services had no idea the kids were at the church and thought they were at the state-licensed facility Braddy operated in Riverdale.
Braddy disputes that, saying he had to move the kids from that location because of flooding, and the state knew the church was his backup location.
“You’re required to have an emergency relocation should something happen,” Braddy said.
Braddy said he was highly offended when fire officials suggested the kids were living in a filthy basement.
“They’re not sleeping on the floor,” he said.
Braddy gave Jones a tour of the teens’ sleeping quarters, which he said is not in the basement but on what he considers the church’s first floor.
The pastor said the area is comfortable, and the teens were happy.
“I wouldn’t put any child in a place I wouldn’t have my own children,” Braddy said.
He said the county gave him 29 days to make the corrections listed in the citations. So, he was surprised they swooped in and removed the teens.
Braddy said his political enemies should attack him.
“Don’t attack the children,” he said.
The pastor said he wants to make the necessary corrections and get the teens back.
The chairwoman said he owes $100,000 in back taxes at the facility in Riverdale, and he should focus on that instead of bringing the kids back to the church.
Braddy denies owing $100,000 in back taxes.
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