Various press reports are emerging that analyze Wednesday night’s instance of dozens of officers in more than several Atlanta police precincts either calling out sick or walking off the job in protest of the politically-motivated prosecution of fellow Atlanta police Officer Garrett Rolfe charged with murder.
The Atlanta Police Department denies the reports. Though, the term “higher than usual number of call outs” does give rise to speculation that the APD is soft-selling the actual news.
Earlier suggestions that multiple officers from each zone had walked off the job were inaccurate. The department is experiencing a higher than usual number of call outs with the incoming shift. We have enough resources to maintain operations & remain able to respond to incidents.
— Atlanta Police Department (@Atlanta_Police) June 18, 2020
When the first video images of the deadly altercation between Officer Rolfe and Rayshard Brooks hit social media, it seemed clear that the officer needlessly fired his weapon at a man who was fleeing from him and thus posed no immediate threat. But first perceptions can be deceiving. Many media writers, including this analyst, thought it was a slam-dunk prosecution. I was wrong.
As new evidence has emerged and further analysis has taken place the case has become far murkier regarding the threat the officer encountered from Brooks and whether the officer was employing proper police procedure in his actions. There are many within and without law enforcement who now believe Officer Rolfe was in the right, because the taser Brooks had stolen from him could have been used to incapacitate Rolfe and take his gun, and the murder charges against Rolfe are politically motivated by the leftist war against police and the “defund the police” movement that is sponsored by groups like Black Lives Matter and many Democrats.
Reacting to enormous political pressure, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr. on Wednesday announced 11 charges against Rolfe, including felony murder, which could result in the death penalty if Rolfe is convicted.
Later Wednesday, Jason Segura, the president of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 623, told the press that Atlanta officers were calling out, quitting or transferring to other jurisdictions. “A lot is going on. I can’t confirm the number who have left, if it’s 10, or if it’s half the force.”
To address the rumors, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms appeared for what she must have thought would be a softball interview with CNN‘s Chris Cuomo. When Cuomo asked her about the walkout reports she gave him the company line that the news was basically exaggerated gossip. But when Cuomo surprisingly pressed her for more details, much to the mayor’s surprise and chagrin, she said that the city could obtain additional police help from county and state agencies and added that she was worried about repairing morale among officers.
If there is no police shortage due to a walkout then why is the mayor considering additional police help? And if there is no issue with the APD over this political prosecution, then why is she worried about morale on the force just at this moment?
This comes on the heels of an unearthed statement by Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr., who is presently in a tough political primary, that he considered a Taser “a deadly weapon” under Georgia law when police employed it. If so, then why is is not a deadly weapon when employed by someone else like Brooks? If a Taser is indeed a deadly weapon per the D.A.’s recent own words, then Officer Rolfe had a legitimate concern about his own safety and the safety of the public and followed proper procedure in the incident. As a top law enforcement officer himself, and given his own words, Howard must know this. Thus, why is he bringing this unethical prosecution?
This piece was written by PoliZette Staff on June 18, 2020. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.
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