When local officials first opened the Center for Diversion and Services, they touted its potential to divert nearly 15,000 bookings each year that would otherwise enter Fulton County jails or police custody at Grady Memorial Hospital’s psychiatric unit. “This more community-based approach is essential for creating a more effective and compassionate public safety ecosystem,” Atlanta […]
Policing
Posted inPolicing, Politics & Policy
Atlanta Immigration Protest Draws Hundreds Amid Tear Gas and Fireworks
As protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions continued for a fifth night in Los Angeles, citizens took to the streets in dozens of cities across the country, including Atlanta. Marching along Buford Highway on Tuesday night, hundreds of protestors carried Mexican flags and homemade signs to protest President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement in the […]
Posted inCommunity Spotlight, Policing, Public Safety, Public Services
Atlanta’s Police Budget Could Increase by $54.6 Million
The Atlanta Police Department plans to spend $54.6 million more than they did last year, a 15% jump. The increase is part of the $3 billion total operating budget that Mayor Andre Dickens is asking the City Council to approve, a move that would raise the city’s general fund budget by 14% to $975.4 million. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Viral Sermon Blaming Black Parents for Police Killings Sparks Mother’s Day Protest
While many Atlanta families were getting ready for church or preparing Mother’s Day brunch on Sunday, Jimmy Hill stood alone in protest outside one of Atlanta’s fastest-growing houses of worship, 2819 Church. Located in southwest Atlanta — and boasting 800,000 followers on YouTube and nearly half a million on Instagram — the church went viral […]
Posted inIncarceration, Policing, Politics & Policy, Public Safety
Overcrowded and Understaffed: Fulton County Jail Gets Money to Hire More Deputies
Fulton County commissioners voted on Wednesday to allocate additional funding to staff Sheriff Patrick Labat’s office, following a scathing November U.S. Department of Justice report that cited understaffing as a cause of rampant, unchecked violence at Fulton County Jail. Vice Chair Bob Ellis introduced the resolution, which will support the hiring and retention of new […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Judge to Decide Whether to Move Forward With Trial in Fatal Police Shooting of Jimmy Atchison
Jimmy Hill became visibly emotional on Monday as he watched retired Atlanta police officer Sung Kim testify for the first time in federal court about fatally shooting Hill’s son, Jimmy Atchison. Hill told Capital B Atlanta after the evidentiary hearing that he got caught up in the moment during Kim’s remarks, which he characterized as […]
Posted inCity Politics, Cop City, Policing, Public Safety
Inside ‘Cop City’: What Atlanta’s Controversial Training Center Looks Like
The Atlanta Public Safety Training Center — the southern DeKalb County facility colloquially known as “Cop City” — officially opened its doors Tuesday after four contentious years of development. The 85-acre campus will serve as the training grounds for the city’s police and firefighters, yet it has received strong pushback due to its environmental impact, $67 million […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Officers Shot Jamarion Robinson 59 Times. Years Later, His Mother Fights for Justice.
Monteria Robinson and other local activists gathered at the West End Mall on Tuesday to raise awareness about her continued fight for justice after her son was gunned down by a federal task force in East Point nearly nine years ago. Jamarion Robinson’s 2016 killing gained national attention due to claims of excessive force by […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
How to Request Body Camera Footage from Atlanta Police
After Atlanta police officer Marquee Kelley fatally shot local activist Oscar Cain Jr. in the back in March 2019 — with his dashboard and body cameras turned off — the department sought ways to bring more transparency and accountability to policing in the city. The Atlanta Police Department had first deployed body cameras in 2016, however a […]
Posted inCop City, Courts, Politics & Policy, Public Safety
Family of Slain ‘Stop Cop City’ Activist Sues in Pursuit of Answers
The parents of an activist fatally shot by the Georgia State Patrol SWAT team in 2023 have filed a lawsuit against three law enforcement officers that they say violated their child’s First and Fourth Amendment rights. Manuel Esteban Paez Terán — better known as Tortuguita — was a 26-year-old nonbinary environmental activist who was protesting the […]