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:
The Libertarian Party of Atlanta (!) is calling for Mayor Shirley Franklin to publicly apologize and Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington to resign over the APD’s Thursday night raid on popular gay bar The Eagle. The chapter says the APD “acted in a manner that would have been common in a different age” during the controversial bust and should “[use] their officers to protect the citizens of Atlanta, not [raid] a private club containing a group of consenting adults.”
From a Libertarian Party press release:
THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF ATLANTA DECRIES THE ACTIONS OF THE ATLANTA POLICE DEPARTMENT RAIDING THE EAGLE.
ATLANTA – The Libertarian Party of Atlanta is deeply disturbed by the actions of the Atlanta Police Department (APD) when they raided popular Atlanta gay bar, The Eagle on September 10th. . In June 2009 according to statistics published by the APD, 331 crimes against persons were committed and there were 3,379 crimes against a property reported. The APD should be using their officers to protect the citizens of Atlanta, not raiding a private club containing a group of consenting adults.
The government has no right to determine what is a permissible activity within a private space between consenting adults. The Atlanta Police acted in a manner that would have been common in a different age. The Libertarian Party of Atlanta believes that all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation, preference or gender identity, deserve to be treated respectfully by the government and its agents.
It is to this end that we call for a public apology from Mayor Franklin and the resignation of Chief Pennington for this egregious abuse of government power and the rights of individuals.
After a July 25th weekend marked by the carjacking of a City Councilman, the killing of a pro boxer and the shooting of an Edgewood resident, Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington was once again criticized for his noticeable absence.
“At this particular time, I do not know.”
— An Atlanta Police Department spokesman tells CBS Atlanta on July 29 he didn’t know the chief’s whereabouts.
“I was surprised to watch a recent press conference regarding crimes near the [Georgia Tech] and see the Atlanta Police Department represented by a lieutenant and a sergeant. Where was the chief? Leadership matters, and he hasn’t mattered. His absence has been an issue.”
— Former Atlanta Deputy Chief Lou Arcangeli in a July 30 AJC article.
““I want the critics to know that I have not ‘checked out.’”
— Pennington, who says he was at a mandatory training conference in Virginia during the crimes, at a July 30 press conference.
Mayor Franklin at yesterday's press conference.
Mayor Shirley Franklin and Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington’s press conference yesterday was a long and quizzical event filled mostly with testy questions about the chief’s recent whereabouts.
But in addition to those questions about Atlanta’s Houdini, the mayor said she wanted to talk about “solutions” and the city’s strategy to improve its piss-poor public safety. That strategy involves more cops on the street, a crackdown on gang activity, and an engaged community.
In the interest of public engagement and transparency, we’ve decided to post Franklin’s statement in full.
After the jump, what Franklin’s administration plans to do in her remaining months in office to prevent the killings, carjackings, burglaries and other ills.
(Photo by Joeff Davis)
Who knew train wrecks could happen indoors?
Mayor Shirley Franklin and Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington today faced heated questions from reporters on how the city plans to address residents’ growing concerns about public safety.
The focus this morning was on Pennington, who spoke only briefly and appeared downtrodden throughout the press conference. The chief’s been criticized for maintaining a low profile, especially after a recent spurt of crimes in the city that included the killing of a pro boxer, the carjacking of a councilman, and the shooting of a man walking into his girlfriend’s house with groceries. Today was the first anyone’s heard from him on the recent rash of crimes. (He said he was attending mandatory “police leadership training” in Virginia over the weekend.)
Reporters asked the chief — who will be looking for a new job once the mayor’s term ends in January — if he has the wherewithal to address the crime issue.
“I have not ‘checked out,’” Pennington said. “I will continue to work hard until [Franklin] leaves.”
Franklin — who got testy with the press many times throughout the conference — voiced unwavering support for Pennington, whom she said has helped “reform” the Atlanta department and the New Orleans Police Department, where he formerly worked.
“I’m proud of his leadership,” she said. “I’m proud of his integrity.”
She added, however, that one crime is “one crime too many” — and that the city could do more.
In unveiling his new “Blueprint for Restoring Public Safety in Atlanta,” state Sen. Kasim Reed brought out the big guns — in the form of Evander Holyfield’s right and left arms. While bringing a well-known heavyweight boxing champ to a campaign press conference might initially sound like a publicity stunt, there was actually a relevant connection: Holyfield was a friend and mentor to Vernon Forrest, the welterweight boxing champion who was murdered at a Castleberry Hill gas station this past Saturday night after he confronted a mugger.
Reed’s plan, which will now go toe-to-toe with the patented Mary Norwood 12-Point Public Safety Program, is titled “Securing Atlanta.” Here’s the campaign blurb:
Securing Atlanta is a comprehensive plan to tackle the growing problem of crime in the city. The plan includes increasing the existing size of our police force with 750 additional police officers, establishing a dedicated revenue stream for public safety, updating our technology such as adding more surveillance cameras, improving officer retention by restoring step increments and making salaries more competitive. Securing Atlanta also takes a holistic approach to reducing crime by addressing other contributing factors such as the importance of revitalizing our neighborhoods, giving our young people greater opportunities and addressing the escalation in gang activity.
Unlike Norwood’s plan, Reed’s proposal includes a funding method, the above-mentioned “dedicated revenue stream for public safety,” which he has said would be in the form of a special tax district whose residents (that’s us) would foot the additional cost.
Can we now expect Lisa Borders to roll out her own splashy public-safety initiative, perhaps called, “Kicking Butt and Taking Names: Fighting Crime in the ATL?” Apparently not, judging from her most recent campaign release, headlined: Borders Calls For End To Public Safety Rhetoric.
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.
Everyone wants to know! Quel scandale!
We hope our fellow freedom-loving friends across the Atlantic will be enchanted by the depiction of our grand city. Crime, bum bots, and hella guns. Creative Loafing also plays a role. “Jay-sohn,” the civilian patroller interviewed in the report, is CL’s senior art director. Hat tip to SpaceyG for finding the video.
The Atlanta City Council has decided that Police Chief Richard Pennington must comply with an oversight committee’s request to release documents related to the police shootings of Kathryn Johnston and Pierre George.
According to an Atlanta City Council spokesman, the Committee on Council:
Issued a subpoena at the request of the Citizen Review Board to compel Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington to produce requested documents as well as the criminal investigation file regarding the police shooting of Kathryn Johnston.
Issued a subpoena at the request of the Citizen Review Board to compel Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington to produce requested documents as well as the criminal investigation file regarding the police shooting of Pierre George.
UPDATED: Cristina Beamud, executive director of the Atlanta Citizen Review Board, tells CL:
“On behalf of the board, we’re very pleased. And we thank the Committee on Council and, most importantly, Chair Felicia Moore for her support on this issue. The public still has a lot of questions about what went wrong, and what we can do to make sure [what happened], or something similar, doesn’t happen again. And we don’t think there have been enough answers if people are still asking those questions…It’s very difficult to give constructive criticism unless you know what caused it and how it can be prevented.”
Asked earlier this year about residents who are worried about crime in their neighborhoods, Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington said residents are feeling edgy and disturbed not because of crime itself, but because scary news about crime spreads fast and far over e-mail.
Mayor Shirley Franklin seems to agree with Pennington. She insists Atlanta is safer today than it’s been for decades.
According to Pennington and Franklin, Atlanta isn’t experiencing a crime wave. It’s experiencing a perception of crime wave.
I agree.
I also believe we must band together as a community to put a stop to this emotional menace.
So I’m starting a new project here: Perception of Crime Watch®.
Jonathan Redding
Two days after the shooting death of Standard bartender John Henderson, one of the teen suspects in that crime was also involved in an attempted home invasion, Atlanta police say — but he and his fellow perps picked the wrong home to invade.
The owners of the Southwest Atlanta home opened fire with an AK-47 and a gun battle ensued in which 17-year-old Jonathan Redding was wounded in the shoulder and his 9mm Smith & Wesson was shot from his hand.
It’s Redding’s handgun, as well as blood he left at the scene of the second robbery, that eventually led police to link him to Henderson’s Jan. 7 murder, as well as the Dec. 21 armed mugging of another Standard bartender, Robin McMillan.
Police arrested Redding in Mechanicsville on April 10 after a DNA match made him a suspect in the home invasion, but they had to wait for ballistic tests to confirm that his Smith & Wesson had also been fired in the Standard the night of Henderson’s killing.
Redding remained in custody, but wasn’t charged with murder until Thursday, when McMillan ID’d the teen as one of the men who’d robbed him at gunpoint, says Lt. Keith Meadows, who heads Atlanta’s homicide division.
“We needed to show that Redding was in possession of the firearm before, during and after the killing in order to remove reasonable doubt” of his involvement, Meadows explains.
(more…)
