Atlanta Mayor Issues 3 Orders From ‘Use of Force’ Council Report

ATLANTA, GA — Atlanta’s new advisory council created to improve use-of-force policies created 10 early action items. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms received the recommendations and on Thursday issued three administrative orders.

The other seven are undergoing further “legal and operational review.”

The administrative orders focus on identifying policies to improve officer compliance and public transparency of captured body worn camera footage; witness footage of use-of-force by officers, and community awareness about the Atlanta Citizen Review Board (ACRB).

“In just 14 days, the Use of Force Advisory Council has developed meaningful recommendations to begin the process of revising Atlanta’s Use of Force polices to rebuild trust in our communities,” said Mayor Bottoms in a statement. “Thank you to the members of this Advisory Council for your diligence and thoughtfulness. Together, we will harness this moment in history to reimagine our use of force policies and elevate the Atlanta Police Department as a national model for modern policing.”

The first order directs the chief of police to identify policies and procedural changes to further improve body worn camera compliance from the current level of 94 percent, according to the news release.

It also directs Atlanta police to improve transparency and overall responsiveness to public requests for officer footage.

The second order directs the chief information officer to develop a platform that allows the public to submit recordings of use-of-force violations. The recordings will be incorporated into investigations “ensuring that public recordings are included with APD footage in decisions,” the release said.

The third order directs the chief of staff and city attorney to work with the ACRB to identify measures to further strengthen the organization. These measures include legislative, budgetary, and/or operational needs to begin a proactive review by ACRB of all deadly use-of-force cases.

Mayor Bottoms also issued a letter to the Atlanta Citizen Review Board highlighting the importance of their independent perspective and critical role in maintaining accountability. ACRB received a $427,000 budget increase for FY2021 to support new staff, community outreach and resolution review.

The Use of Force Advisory Council consists of 28-members of the Atlanta community and held its first meeting on June 10.

The other seven recommendations by the Advisory Council that remain under the mayor’s review are:

1. Commit to revising the Use of Force continuum in Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to increase specificity and align with best practices;
2. Ensure that changes taken under the Mayor’s Administrative Orders 2020-18 align with best practice policy changes from other cities and continue measures for accountability;
3. Mandate immediate drug testing for officers when a use of force incident resulting in serious injury or death occurs;
4. Commit to re-evaluating and revising mission, vision, core values and oath of the Atlanta Police Department;
5. Conduct additional screenings, including mental health and implicit bias assessments, for all applicants during the recruiting process, and on an ongoing basis for all officers;
6. Require more exhaustive background checks with attention to record of complaints from other agencies, previous applications to police departments and social media sentiment;
7. Begin to evaluate policies, procedures and partner organizations for least harm approach to reduce the likelihood of use of force long-term, including use of non-law enforcement officials for community crisis response and expansion of the pre-arrest diversion program.
The full Advisory Council report can be accessed here.
The Advisory Council will submit its 45-day recommendations near the end of July.