Fresh Loaf

A horde of gays, police officers and politicians went to church Monday night to talk about a gay leather bar and God spared them all.

Atlanta Eagle raid protest in front of City Hall, Sept. 19.

Roughly 100 were in attendance at Virginia-Highland Church for the APD-LGBT forum organized by openly gay mayoral candidate Kyle Keyser and the APD’s LGBT liaison Dani Lee Harris with help from openly gay candidate for Atlanta City Council Post 1-At Large Adam Brackman.  If you take away all the cops, political candidates, forum organizers and media though it was closer to 50 concerned citizens.

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Nearly three weeks after the controversial police raid on local gay bar the Eagle, a protest or two, a press conference, and calls for resignations and outrage throughout the gay and straight communities alike, the Atlanta Police Department and the Atlanta community are going to church.

The forum came together as a result of a collaboration between openly gay mayoral candidate Kyle Keyser and LGBT community liaison Officer Dani Lee Harris, with help from Atlanta City Council Post 1 at-large candidate Adam Brackman.  The forum, which is free and open to the public, starts at at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 5,  at Virginia-Highland Church. It’s co-sponsored by grassroots group Atlantans Together Against Crime, of which Keyser is a founder.

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Mayor Shirley Franklin made her first public comments today in regards to the Sept. 10 raid at the Eagle.  She decided to forgo the traditional issuing of a press release, and instead haunted the aisles of the Home Depot on Ponce for a Southern Voice reporter to find her first.  It was reportedly that chance encounter or challenging reporters to a fight to the death.

Franklin on the reports of anti-gay slurs and excessive force used by APD officers during the raid:

If there are any allegations about misconduct it’s our intention to investigate them and take the appropriate action.  I believe that every person who lives or visits Atlanta should be treated fairly and justly.

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There were four notable things to take from Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington’s press conference today about the Sept. 10 raid at Atlanta Eagle:

Which begs the following questions:

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It appears Atlanta Police Department officials are finally going to speak up about last Thursday’s raid at the Eagle at a 3:30 p.m. press conference today.

The only word to come out of the department so far has been a short statement released late Friday that there have been allegations of improper conduct by the officers present, but no formal complaints filed.

The raid led to outrage in the LGBT community, damning statements against the department by basically every 2009 candidate for office in a 500-mile radius, and a rally Sunday at the Eagle that attracted hundreds.

Will follow up with more after the press conference.

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Thanks to some Obamabucks from Washington, D.C., Atlanta residents could see more police officers patrolling the streets — possibly this fall.

Vice President Joe Biden today announced $1 billion in economic stimulus funds to hire 4,700 police officers in cities across the country. The funds will be administered through the U.S. Justice Department’s Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, program.

Atlanta’s set to receive $11.2 million of that loot — enough to hire 50 police officers. (You can view a PDF of Atlanta’s award letter here.)

That’s a far cry from the 200 officers Mayor Shirley Franklin had hoped for earlier this year. But after a weekend of high-profile shootings, killings and carjackings, it’s good news for a city that looks safer on paper than it feels on the streets.

In a statement about the funding, Atlanta Deputy Chief George Turner said:

…the goal is to have a recruit class this fall with the 50 new recruits. Once the officers are trained they will be dispatched into the community. The police department is proud and happy to add 50 new officers to the force, said Chief Turner. All the positions awarded under the grant must be used to initiate or enhance community policing in the City of Atlanta.

There’s a catch, however.

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The AJC reports one of the two suspects arrested after yesterday’s shoot-out with police at Clark Atlanta University escaped shortly after being taken into custody.

I would tell you his name, give you a description, or post a photo, but the APD hasn’t made any of that information available. The department’s media advisory web page hasn’t been updated in more than a month.

UPDATE 5: WSB reports the escaped suspect was caught today on Magnolia Way in Northwest Atlanta; Magnolia Way is only five blocks from Clark Atlanta University’s campus.

UPDATE 4: WSB reports the suspect escaped police headquarters YESTERDAY. I corrected the description above to reflect that.

So the guy escapes yesterday and police wait at least 14 hours to tell the public? And still no photo or name?

UPDATE 3: Atlanta Police has a Twitter account. It contains no information about the escaped suspect. In fact, the page is completely blank.

UPDATE 2: WSB has video footage of the escape, but still no name or mug shot.

UPDATE: Atlanta police say the escaped suspect is wearing a red t-shirt and jeans with a large rip on the left leg. Why police aren’t sharing the suspect’s name or circulating a photograph is a mystery.

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A couple weeks ago, I said Mayor Shirley Franklin owes an apology to Atlanta Police Department Sergeant and union chief Scott Kreher for some nasty and factually incorrect comments she made about him.

Well, yesterday Kreher told the city council he gets so frustrated with Franklin sometimes he wants to beat her head with a baseball bat.

So, about that apology, um, nevermind.

Kreher’s comment was inexcusable.

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Holla!

From the Atlanta Police Department:

The Atlanta Police Department Special Enforcement Section with the assistance of other APD Units served a warrant yesterday in Southwest Atlanta. As a result of the warrant several people were arrested and numerous items were seized. Among the items were 4 firearms, 3 flat panel televisions, ammunition, bolt cutters, 1 purse, 2 designer shirts and 10 pair of designer blue jeans. A news conference will be held today at 10:00am on the 2nd floor of City Hall East to provide further details.

If you recall, Fox 5 reported a suspected link between some of the “blue-jean bandit” robberies and the 30 Deep Gang. Jonathan Redding, the teen who was arrested in connection with the John Henderson murder, was suspected to be a 30 Deep member.

UPDATE: The AJC’s Mike Morris has more details:

Two adults and three juveniles, ranging in age from 14 to 25, were arrested, and police said four of the suspects are known members of the “30 Deep” gang that was recently connected to the Jan. 7 killing of Grant Park bartender John Henderson.

However, police said Friday that they had not been able to connect any of those arrested Thursday night to Henderson’s slaying.

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MAYOR SHIRLEY FRANKLIN OWES APD SGT. AND POLICE UNION LEADER SCOTT KREHER AN APOLOGY: He's waiting. (Photo by Joeff Davis)

Shirley Franklin owes Atlanta police union head Sgt. Scott Kreher a public apology.

Speaking at the Atlanta Press Club in January, Mayor Franklin announced her intention to grow the Atlanta Police Department from 1,633 officers to 2,000 officers by the end of 2009.

Franklin has been promising for years to grow the force to 2,000 officers.

But APD isn’t growing. It’s shrinking.

In October 2007, the city claimed to have 1,833 police officers. By January, the force was down to just 1,633 officers. And the city’s police union says the police force’s attrition rate is accelerating.

If Mayor Franklin couldn’t grow the force to 2,000 officers during her first seven years in office, it was implausible and laughable of her to suggest she might pull it off in her final year.

The Mayor’s suggestion was so laughably implausible, in fact, Atlanta police union chief Sgt. Scott Kreher laughed and called it implausible when the AJC asked him what he thought.

Kreher’s laughter so irritated the notoriously thin-skinned Mayor, she published a bizarre open letter calling his comments “divisive.” Furthermore, she suggested his criticism could undermine efforts to rally the city residents behind growing the police force — a slimy, roundabout way of insinuating Kreher’s attitude is a threat to public safety.

So who was right, Franklin or Kreher?

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Call girls need peace, too

The AJC reports that the APD charged two young ladies with soliciting sex on one of Buckhead’s ritzier blocks. Here’s the story:

Police arrested two women last week in an undercover sting prompted by complaints that patrons at the W Hotel in Buckhead were being solicited for illegal sex acts.
Caprice Evan, 19, of DeKalb, and Brandi Moody, 18, of Atlanta, were arrested March 11 on charges of escorting without a permit, a misdemeanor, according to an Atlanta police report.

Hey, at least they weren’t panhandling. Now, the charge suggests the suspects would’ve been in the clear if they’d gotten their escort permits. Interesting… Here’s more:

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Members of Atlantans Together Against Crime, a grassroots advocacy group launched after the slaying of John Henderson, will hold a rally tonight in Little Five Points to raise awareness about crime in the city. The group plans to rally in a different Atlanta neighborhood on the last Monday of every month.

Here’s the information from the organization’s Facebook group:

Reclaim Atlanta’s Neighborhoods!
A Rally for Action, Awareness, & Change.

Monday, January 26th.
5p-7p
Findley Plaza, Little Five Points

On Wednesday night, more than 20 Atlanta restaurants including JCT Kitchen, 97 Estoria, Beleza, El Taco and Stella Trattoria will participate in a “dine out” benefit. Participating restaurants are encouraged to donate at least 20 percent of the evening’s proceeds to a reward fund established for information leading to the arrest of the people involved in Henderson’s slaying. For a map and full list of participating restaurants, visit ATAC’s group page.

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