Mayor’s task force releases details on recommended Atlanta police reforms

ATLANTA — A task force that’s examining the Atlanta police department’s use of force policies is getting ready to make its final report to the mayor.

The group of 28 people, handpicked to serve on Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ “Use of Force Advisory Council,” has been meeting regularly to come up with a list of recommendations to help rewrite the police department’s use of force policies.

The group was formed in June after the police-involved shooting death of Rayshard Brooks at a Wendy’s in Atlanta. Their deadline is July 24.

They discussed several of their suggestions in an online community forum Wednesday night. The group says its role is not to attack the Atlanta Police Department but rather to help improve it.

“Calling for police officers to be accountable to community is actually the absolute least we can do,” said council member Tiffany Roberts.

The group discussed 19 of their recommendations including: New de-escalation requirements for officers, a working group to reimagine the vision of Atlanta police and a pre-arrest diversion program.

“That’s what this recommendation is all about, to say we need to agree on what culture we want in our police department and that should be a collective decision with the community and APD,” said member Jacob Tzegaegbe.

The list is on top of three early recommendations they made to the mayor, including: Transparency of bodycam video, better gathering of witness footage and the expansion of Atlanta’s Citizen Review Board.

“Hopefully sharing use of force data to the community will empower the community to really have a continued conversation about quality policing,” review board member Johnathan Davis said.

Some in the community wanted to make sure the mental health of officers is addressed.

“We send our officers into a war zone every day,” said resident Byron Amos.

Those residents also told the group it was vital for them to understand people who live in heavily policed communities have a voice in what their needs are and how they can work on these issues together.

Mayor Bottoms cited the disproportionate rate at which black people are killed by the police as a reason to form the task force. Now, those on the panel say their input should lead to reform.

“People living in communities, especially those that are heavily policed, should be heard on what their needs are,” Roberts said.

The Advisory Board will present their recommendations to the mayor on Friday.

Rayshard Brooks: Former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe granted $500,000 bond A Fulton County judge granted bond to a former Atlanta police officer charged with murder in the shooting of Rayshard Brooks.

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