Fresh Loaf

More than a year and a half after its creation, Atlanta’s Citizen Review Board has started investigating cases of police misconduct.

The board was formed in the aftermath of the Thanksgiving-eve 2006 killing of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston, who was repeatedly shot in her home by two Atlanta cops serving an illegally obtained warrant.

According to a press release:

On November 13, 2008, the Atlanta Citizen Review Board held its monthly meeting and considered its first seven complaints.  The Board voted unanimously to seek further investigation or information concerning three of the complaints and to refer two of the remaining four complaints to the Atlanta Police Department Office of Professional Standards.  The remaining two complaints have already been investigated by the Office of Professional Standards.

The ordinance requires … that the complaints fall into six specific categories of alleged misconduct.  The categories include abusive language, false arrest, false imprisonment, harassment, excessive force, and serious bodily injury or death which is alleged to be the result of a sworn employee of the police or corrections departments.  The four cases that were dismissed were either untimely or did not fall into the classifications authorized by the Ordinance.

So I guess the board doesn’t hear allegations of bribery or corruption — just garden-variety brutality. Best leave complaints about systemic ills to the APD’s in-house Office of Professional Affairs, huh.

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Now that the FBI has concluded its investigation into the death of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston at the hands of two Atlanta cops, the police department has formed a task force to conduct its own internal probe of Johnston’s killing.

Here’s what Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington said (in a press release) about the creation of the task force:

Following the November 21, 2006 death of Ms. Kathryn Johnston at 933 Neal Street, I asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to commence an independent investigation into Ms. Johnston’s death.  The scope of the FBI investigation included allegations of criminal acts as well as other misconduct. I would like to thank the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office for their help and assistance in conducting this investigation regarding criminal misconduct. …

The Atlanta Police Department should be given an opportunity to review the actions of its own employees for the purpose of determining whether administrative charges are appropriate. If it is deemed appropriate, adminstrative action will be taken against officers as warranted.

My question is, where does the city’s newly created Citizen Review Board — a board that came into existence as a result of the Johnston killing — fit into all this?

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Former Atlanta Police officer Arthur Tesler pleaded guilty today in federal court to conspiracy to violate civil rights resulting in death. Tesler, who was convicted of a state charge earlier this year, is the third cop to plead to federal charges in the fatal police shooting of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston.

The other two officers, Gregg Junnier and Jason Smith, cooperated early on with the FBI and entered guilty pleas. (Tesler initially declined a plea offer.) Junnier and Smith face 10 years on voluntary manslaughter charges, though their sentences could be reduced due to their cooperation. Tesler, who was sentenced to four years on the state charge, now faces 10 years on the federal one.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office:

“Officers Tesler, Smith, and Junnier, however, repeatedly ignored the requirements of our Constitution and violated the civil rights of the citizens they were sworn to protect, and it was inevitable that one day their illegal ‘shortcuts’ would lead to tragedy.  … [T]he cooperation of Junnier and Smith and the dedicated investigation by the FBI have brought other police misconduct to light.

“The FBI also announced today that it has completed its investigation of the Kathryn Johnston shooting and other misconduct by APD officers. … The FBI will therefore soon be providing a report on the investigation to APD Chief Richard Pennington for  consideration of potential administrative discipline or state charges against other APD officers.”

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Percentage of graduates in the last two Atlanta Police Academy classes who’ve been arrested or cited for a crime: 36

Of the 33 total graduates, number who became officers: 33

Number of those graduates who’d been denied jobs with other law enforcement agencies: 12

Minimum number of graduates who’d been deemed psychologically incompatible for work at another police department: 1

Number of officers the Atlanta Police Department should employ to ensure public safety, authorities say: 2,000

Number of officers currently employed: 1,700

Number of Atlanta officers indicted in a 2006 botched raid that left a 92-year-old woman dead: 3

Of those, number who blamed pressure to meet arrest quotas as the impetus for the raid: 3

Months after the raid that the city created a Citizen Review Board to review police misconduct: 4

Number of police misconduct cases that the board considered in its first 18 months: 0

Sources: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, International Brotherhood of Police Officers

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Veruca is expected to survive her gunshot wounds

Last week, a woman’s pit bull mix was shot by an Atlanta cop in her back yard. According to a statement from Atlanta Police spokesman Officer Eric Schwartz, the incident is under review.

Schwartz’ statement is consistent with dog owner Tracy Dummet’s version of events, but adds that the officer was attacked by the dog.

Dummet had run to her front door after she saw an officer racing down the sidewalk in front of her Sylvan Hills home. By the time she opened the door, the officer — who was in pursuit of a suspect — was making his way toward her back yard, which is enclosed by a privacy fence. Dummet heard the officer yell “freeze,” then she heard gun shots. She ran to her back door to call her dog, Veruca, who’d been playing outside.

According to Schwartz’ statement:

The officers were chasing a suspect on foot and when the suspect jumped a fence, one officer followed in an attempt to stop the fleeing suspect. At this time the officer was attacked by a pit bull and in fear for his safety, fired his city issued weapon, striking the dog. The incident will be reviewed by our office of professional standards as is the policy when an officer discharges their weapon.

Veruca, who was shot an estimated four times, including once in the face, is expected to survive.

When asked if the officer was OK, Schwartz replied, “Yes.”

(Photo by Manuel Llaneras)

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Thanks to the efficient and helpful staff employed by the Mexican airline Aeroméxico, I had an 18 hour layover in Mexico City over the weekend. (more…)

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Tracy Dummet was lying on her couch watching Oprah yesterday afternoon when she heard a commotion outside.

She went to the front door of her Sylvan Hills home and saw a cop running toward her back yard, which is enclosed by a six-foot privacy fence. She heard him yell, “freeze!” Then she heard gunshots.

She ran to her back door to call her pit bull mix, Veruca, into the house. Her other two dogs, Rosie and Mayfield, already were inside.

When Veruca came bounding up, blood was streaming from her face.

It turns out that the dog had chased a police suspect through her yard after he’d scaled the fence. The cops were close behind him. Upon seeing the dog, one of the officers pulled his gun. He shot her four times.

To Dummet, it looked like her dog’s snout had been blown off. “Immediately I thought, they killed my dog.”

Miraculously, Veruca survived. She’s in stable condition at a local vet. She has bullet wounds to her face, her front leg, her tail and the base of her spine. Early estimates of her medical costs are $5,000 to $7,000.

When contacted today, Atlanta police spokesman Officer James Polite said, “I’m trying to see if there’s anything to that. I’m curious to see what transpired.”

For an update, with photo, click here.
(more…)

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At least one Atlanta cop does not appreciate Police Chief Richard Pennington’s request for on-duty motorcycle officers to escort his Corvette club around town, AJC.com reports.

If the allegation — which was described in an ethics complaint filed against Pennington — is true, it’s a pretty brazen move for a chief who already has an uneasy relationship with his ranks.

According to the AJC story, a probe of the allegation has begun and Pennington declined comment on the open investigation. The story goes on to say:

The officer who filed the complaint did so anonymously out of fear of retribution, said police Sgt. Scott Kreher, president of an Atlanta police union. …

Kreher said the club’s members came to Atlanta for its week-long annual convention and stayed at a hotel south of the city, near the airport.

On July 12, Pennington had a handful of officers escort the club members, driving their Corvettes, from the hotel to Lenox Square Mall in Buckhead, Kreher said.

Pennington was with the group, was not on duty and was driving his Corvette, Kreher said, adding that the escort required about two hours of the officers’ time.

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AJC.com published a really interesting story today about an Atlanta cop who recently learned she is intersex, meaning she appeared to have the anatomy of a girl at birth and later developed “external sexual anatomy that appears to be a blend of a man’s and woman’s.”

Genetic testing conducted earlier this year showed that the officer, Darlene Harris, carries the XY chromosomes of a male.

Sounds very close to the plot line of Jeffrey Eugenides’ 2002 Pulitzer-winning novel, Middlesex. Eugenides’ intersex protagonist, Calliope, has 5-alpha-reductase deficiency — which, judging from its Wikipedia entry, closely approximates to Harris’ condition.

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This photo, taken yesterday, makes it look as if all is peachy keen over at Atlanta Police headquarters. Nope, no woeful under-staffing here. Officer morale is at an all-time high!

Actually, the mood at City Hall East more closely resembles this.

Note to developer Emory Morsberger, City Hall East’s soon-to-be owner: If you were to permanently install a rainbow over the 1920s, former Sears, Roebuck & Co. distribution center, you could easily charge 20 percent more for the 1,100 lofts that will replace the dismal police cubicles. Just a thought.

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Driving down to south Georgia recently, I noticed a billboard a few miles north of Macon — actually, two billboards, on both the northbound and southbound side of I-75 — that came across as something of a desperate plea: “The Atlanta Police Department Wants You!”

Looks like the APD is recruiting cops from outside the metro area — those who are perhaps less familiar with the low morale that has plagued the department. And, judging from a story in today’s AJC about the exodus of Atlanta officers, it’s no wonder the APD is recruiting so aggressively:

After the Atlanta Police Department froze 53 vacant positions last month — a byproduct of the city’s budget crisis — retaining officers is now more important than ever. But a recent audit by the city, made public July 29, revealed that Atlanta police are losing an increasing number of officers, most of whom have five years on the job or less.

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Blogger Shelby Highsmith (who blogs as Shelbinator) reports yesterday’s Critical Mass group bicycle ride around Atlanta was shadowed by more than a dozen Atlanta Police Department vehicles.

If you were robbed, mugged, or otherwise assaulted or injured in the downtown Atlanta area between 6:45 and 8:00pm on Friday, we bicyclists do apologize for your lack of police protection. You see, we were busy occupying about a dozen motorcycle cops and several police cruisers with our monthly bike ride.

Be sure to check out Shelby’s video.

Atlanta is an under-policed city experiencing a double-digit increase in serious crime. Is following and ticketing bike riders a responsible allocation of the police department’s resources?

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The FBI’s annual compendium of national crime stats shows a decrease in every major category of crime nationwide.

Atlanta, on the other hand, registered an overall increase in crime of 11 percent, driven by double-digit increases in the number of robberies, burglaries, auto thefts and murders.

Neither the mayor’s office nor Atlanta police Chief Richard Pennington’s office were willing to comment, but APD Sgt. Scott Kreher, president of Atlanta’s police union, blames part of the increase on sagging morale among the rank-and-file. It’s the result, Kreher says, of the city’s failure to adequately fund the department as well as what he describes as Pennington’s absentee leadership. Kreher says he hopes the mayor will replace Pennington with someone else from within the department.

City Council President Lisa Borders — who is also a candidate for mayor — calls the increase in crime “unacceptable” and says it must be addressed by city leaders immediately. “At this pace, increased crime threatens to reverse many, if not all of the gains the city has made over the past decade,” she says.

(Chart by Erin Washburn)

(NOTE: The print edition of Creative Loafing includes a mislabeled version of the chart shown above. I apologize for the error.)

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LEAVING ONLY FOOTPRINTS: Cityfolk have smaller carbon footprints than residents of more rural areas, according to a study released today by the Brookings Institution. But the lower carbon output is tied to density, meaning Atlanta is on the low end of the ecofriendliness.

UNCONVENTIONAL: Dems’ rules committee will meet Saturday to decide what to do with precocious Florida and Michigan and their convention-hungry delegates.

SUND RISES: The Hawks hire former SuperSonics GM Rick Sund, who faces an offseason with no draft picks, two players with expiring contracts and a head coach whose contract is up in a month. His hiring has flustered some fans, including this Bleacher Report writer who was driven to mix metaphors (”I don’t trust this guy with a ten foot pole”), not to mention write a headline I can’t bring myself to repeat here.

WALK IT OUT: Rookie cops begin foot patrols in two Atlanta police zones, per the recommendation of City Councilman Ceasar Mitchell.

UNION DON’TS: Not enough Delta flight attendants vote to unionize.

CHANGE WE CAN COMMUTE IN: DOT Director Gena Abraham promises innovation and change in metro Atlanta’s transportation quagmire while addressing the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce Wednesday.

DRUG MULE: Sentenced to 25 years in prison for driving with a kilo of cocaine and a gun, which she says she didn’t know were in the car. Her lawyer says the sentence, which is the mandatory minimum, is too high even if she had known.

MONKEY THINK, MONKEY DO: A new study advances the teaching-animals-to-control-robotic-arms-with-just-their-brains research, as two macaques have apparently adopted a robotic arm as their own, improvising and reacting to stimuli in real time.

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