Atlanta

Lawmaker calls on AG to weigh in on mayor's blue light use

By Aaron Diamant
By Aaron Diamant

ATLANTA — A Georgia lawmaker is urging the state attorney general to weigh in on whether Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed's routine use of blue lights and sirens for non-emergencies, which was exposed in a Channel 2 Action News investigation, violates state law.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Aaron Diamant obtained a copy of the letter signed by state Sen. Josh McKoon, R- Columbus, which was hand-delivered to the attorney general's office Friday.

CLICK HERE to view the 162-page document the Reed Administration provided Channel 2 in response to our investigation.

McKoon feels the attorney general needs to weigh in on this. Still, Diamant asked McKoon why a lawmaker from Columbus would want to get in the middle of this situation.

A Channel 2 Action News investigation looks into the mayor's use of blue lights and sirens.

"I think that it's wholly inappropriate to be using blue lights and sirens for non-emergency purposes," McKoon told Diamant.

McKoon’s letter to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr asking him to weigh in on whether Reed's police detail's routine use of blue lights and sirens to get the mayor around faster violates state law.

"It's an invitation for every local government official in the state to do that," McKoon said.

A Channel 2 Action News investigation recently spent weeks documenting Reed's lit-up SUV blowing through red lights, driving on the shoulder and dodging traffic to get to news conferences, debate watch parties and other non-emergency destinations.

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"My job as the police chief is to protect our mayor and his family and that's what we're going to do," Atlanta Police Chief George Turner said about the use of the blue lights.

Reed also suggested the security issue, but provided no specifics to Channel 2's Lori Geary in October.

"So, the bottom line is, Lori, you don't know what's going on in my office," Reed told Geary at that point.

But critics argue the law is clear: Blue lights are for emergencies only. They call the mayor's actions a public safety risk, citing a September crash in Cobb County.

As for McKoon's letter, attorney Hollie Manheimer explained the attorney general can issue an official opinion -- yea or nay-- or a less forceful, unofficial opinion.

"If it's something adverse or not, you want to take note of it. It's the only authority in the state so to speak, so it definitely holds weight," Manheimer said.

Carr could also choose to do nothing.

"Well, you know, the Legislature convenes in a few weeks. We might need to amend some of these statutes to just make explicitly clear that these blue lights and sirens are not for the convenience of elected officials," McKoon said.

Late Friday afternoon, a spokesperson for Reed emailed Diamant a statement saying:

"The Reed Administration has provided over 160 pages of case law and supporting statutes on the use of blue lights and sirens to WSB.  To date, they have failed to include any of this factual information in their baseless and sensationalized reporting on this subject.  The Atlanta Police Department and the City's Law Department stands by its legal opinion."

We should point out that we received and reviewed those 160 pages many weeks ago. We also sent them to several independent legal experts, all of whom disagreed with the city's interpretation.

The attorney general's office had no comment.

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