Atlanta mayor refuses to say how many police officers failed to show up for their evening shift in protest after ex-cop was charged with murder of Rayshard Brooks
- Atlanta’s police department revealed an unusual number of officers working late shift had called out sick after former officer was fired and charged with murder
- The mayor insisted the city would be fine while the police tweeted that there had not been a massive walkout from several police precincts throughout the city
- But Twitter users said they were hearing radio silence in several areas of the city
- The walkout came after former officer Garrett Rolfe, who was fired after he shot Rayshard Brooks twice in the back on Friday night, was charged with murder
Just hours after a police officer who was fired and charged with felony murder for fatally shooting a man in the back, Atlanta police officers were seen to be failing to respond to calls in three of the department’s six zones.
The police department revealed that an unusual number of officers working the late shift had called out sick although the mayor insisted city would be fine.
The department later tried to walk back claims that coverage was affected on Twitter.
Atlanta’s police department revealed an unusual number of officers working late shift had called out sick but the APD insisted that such reports were ‘inaccurate’
Twitter users were quick to note that upon listening to police scanners there was radio silence
‘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.’
‘There’s a lot happening in our cities and our police officers are receiving the brunt of it, quite frankly,’ Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told CNN.
Bottoms said that the city has promised a pay rise to Atlanta’s officers but that she ‘expects that our officers will keep their commitment to our communities.’
‘We do have enough officers to cover us through the night,’ Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told CNN. ‘Our streets won’t be any less safe because of the number of officers who called out.’
A demonstrator holds a sign during a protest against racial inequality and the police shooting death of Rayshard Brooks, in Atlanta, Georgia, on Wednesday
Protesters rally against racial inequality and the police shooting death of Rayshard Brooks, in Atlanta
A number of protest and rallies took place late into the evening in Atlanta on Wednesday night
The mayor admitted that morale within the police force was low but would not reveal how many officers had called out on Wednesday’s evening shift.
Bottoms attempted to reassure the city’s residents that the department could cope and that some officers had agreed to work overtime.
‘We do have enough officers to cover us through the night,’ she said. ‘Our streets won’t be any less safe because of the number of officers who called out. But it is just my hope again that our officers will remember the commitment that they made when they held up their hand and they were sworn in as police officers.’
Earlier in the day, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced 11 charges against Garrett Rolfe, who was fired after he allegedly shot Rayshard Brooks twice in the back on Friday night. Officer Devin Brosnan, right, faces an aggravated assault charge for allegedly standing on Brooks in the parking lot
Earlier in the day, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced 11 charges against Garrett Rolfe, who was fired after he shot Rayshard Brooks twice in the back on Friday night.
Rolfe faces 11 charges and include felony murder, five counts of aggravated assault, four counts of violation of oath of office and one count of criminal damage to property.
Devin Brosnan, the other officer at the shooting, faces an aggravated assault charge for standing on Brooks in the parking lot.
Both officers’ lawyers have said they are not guilty.
Former police officer Garrett Rolfe is alleged to have shot Rayshard Brooks twice in the back on Friday night, killing him