A View From the Executive Director: Why ACRB Mediation Matters
Lee Reid, ACRB Executive Director
“I Am – Somebody!” Civil Rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson’s powerful poem and chant rings true 60 years later. It was popular in the 60s and 70s, and served to remind many of us, young and old, that despite our conditions we are deserving of respect and protection. It was about empowerment over our lives, regardless of our social/economical situations, and demanding that our humanness be recognized. So, what does “I Am Somebody” have to do with the ACRB mediation program?” I’ll tell you. Mediation is about empowerment and about affirming your dignity and respect in an environment where police officers and citizens are on a level playing field for discussion. It provides rare citizen/police contact where the conversation focuses on learning, sharing, and understanding, as opposed to enforcement and power. With the help of a third-party who is not associated with the ACRB or the police department, the citizen and officer, meeting face-to-face, are free to discuss the events involved in the citizen complaint to work toward an acceptable solution. The ability to meet face-to-face has proven to be beneficial for citizens and officers. Mediation restores dignity, recognizes humanness, and creates empowerment. It allows both the citizen and officer to see each other as Somebody. If you ever have a concern or complaint against an Atlanta police officer, mediation may be an option for you to consider. Unfortunately, not every complaint qualifies for mediation. Qualification for mediation depends on the allegations contained in the complaint and whether the citizen and officer both agree to participate in the mediation opportunity. If you have a concern about the actions of an Atlanta police or corrections officer, or for more details about ACRB mediation, contact the ACRB at 404-865-8622.
Prosecutor Dismisses Charges Against APD officers in Fatal Shooting of Rayshard Brooks
A Georgia special prosecutor dropped murder and assault charges against two Atlanta police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks in June 2020, stating that the officers acted reasonably in response to a deadly threat. “It is my conclusion that the use of deadly force was objectively reasonable and that they did not act with criminal intent”, special prosecutor Peter Skandalakis said. Reacting to the decision, Justin D. Miller, an attorney representing the family of Brooks, stated, “This family lost a father and they deserve a jury trial”, opting to initiate a lawsuit in civil court. Mayor Dickens responded with, “My heart continues to ache for the family of Rashard Brooks. We must maintain our commitment to the work of creating safe communities through collaboration be-tween police and the people they serve”.
The announcement came more than two years after Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man, was shot and killed outside a Wendy’s restaurant on University Avenue S.W., after he fought two white officers who tried to arrest him for a DUI. According to prosecutors, during the struggle, Brooks overpowered officers Garrett Rolfe and Devin Brosnan, took a Taser from Brosnan and ran away. While fleeing, he turned back and fired the stolen Taser at Rolfe, who then shot Brooks twice, in the back and buttocks, killing him. The fatal shooting in the parking lot, he was extensively caught on bodycam footage, the restaurant’s surveillance video and witness cellphone video. This incident occurred less than three weeks after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The death of Brooks added to local and national demonstrations and unrest over police brutality and racial injustice, and as a result, the Wendy’s restaurant was burned down; hundreds blocked the nearby I-75/I-85 Downtown Connector; authorities launched tear gas; Rolfe was fired a day after the shooting; Brosnan was placed on administrative duty; Police Chief Erika Shields subsequently stepped down; and the former Fulton County District Attorney, running for re-election, criminally charged the officers. However, Skandalakis, Executive Director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, said he would file paperwork to dismiss the warrants. Both officers are still em-ployed with the Atlanta Police Department on administrative duty.
The Brooks case also resulted in Atlanta City Council’s decision to make the APD more accountable to the Atlanta Citizen Review Board by passing legislative changes that extended the independent police oversight powers of the ACRB so that all deadly or excessive uses of force incidents involving APD must be reported to the ACRB for review.
APD Chief’s Plan to Address a Lack of Police Responses to Sustained ACRB Complaints
By law, whenever the ACRB makes a formal judgement on a citizen’s complaint against an APD officer, it goes to the police chief who makes the final decision after also receiving recommendations from the Office of Professional Standards (OPS). The greatest concern expressed over the summer to Chief Darin Schierbaum by the Board was the lack of responses from former Police Chief Bryant to ACRB on citizen complaints against APD officers for over a year. One of the first appearances Schierbaum made when he was appointed Interim Chief of Atlanta Police Department was before the ACRB at its June monthly meeting. He told the Board the lack of responses to ACRB sustained citizen complaints was, “… something we are working on and we hope to have a report on how we will be moving forward on that very, very quickly”. True to his word, a month lat-er, Executive Director Lee Reid reported to the Board comprehensive steps taken by Chief Schierbaum to address the issue.
“APD is developing a tracking system to prevent overdue files,” Reid reported. “Biweekly meetings will be held between the ACRB staff and the APD’s OPS staff. OPS investigators will provide an update to their supervisors at the end of each month on the status of their files. Chief findings for minor policy infractions are expected to be completed within 21 days. Chief expects to have the backlog of cases resolved by September 2022.” Executive Director Reid, in a subsequent 2021 Annual Data Report, noted that efforts were made to improve OPS processes related to the handling of ACRB complaints and the ACRB started receiving responses to ACRB allegations. At the end of June, the APD achieved a 68% rate of agreement on ACRB allegations sent to the APD in 2021 and 88% at the end of June 2022 for those allegations sent to the APD in 2022. Reid said, “While these are great percentages, there are still some pending OPS investigations that may change the percentage rate of agreement. The improvement in responses on ACRB sustained complaints is critical to building trust with the community”.
West End’s National Night Out Brings Together Citizens, APD, and the ACRB
ACRB participated in the annual National Night Out (NNO) Fight Against Crime hosted by the award-winning R.E.D.E.E.M.E.D. Community Outreach Inc. (REDEEMED) at Gordon-White Park based in the Historic West End. One of dozens held city wide, the national event, that mostly happens on the second Tuesday of Au-gust, brings local law enforcement together with citizens in an informal, fun atmosphere. There was free food, a grilling cook-off, and a watermelon eating contest. Free school supplies were also offered.
The ACRB was invited to the event by R.E.D.E.E.M.E.D. Founder, Evangelist Sister DeBorah Williams (pictured to the upper left, with the APD and ACRB). It was a threefold celebration for Sister Williams: her birthday, anniversary of her marriage, which was held during last year’s NNO, and her 22nd annual NNO. The evangelist was honored by APD Chief Schierbaum and former District 4 Councilmember Cleta Winslow for her decades of community service (pictured: center left)
For 30 years, R.E.D.E.E.M.E.D. has successfully developed projects to improve environmental health, safety, food, housing, and job training for the community, creating a co-operative garden and a farmer’s market out of a city park; growing crops in abandoned lots and drug infested properties. Sister Williams managed to get seniors to plant community gardens and employed youth to assist them with support from corporate and faith-based resources, members of Atlanta City Council and the Mayor’s Office.
Sister Williams shares the goal of the ACRB to improve relations between citizens and police. The agency thanks her for allowing the ACRB to establish a regular presence at the West End Farmers Market in Gordon-White Park, located at 567 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd S.W., Atlanta, GA 30310, which runs through October 2nd.
Helping Youth & Building a Legacy From the Former Home of Kathryn Johnston
It was here on November 21, 2006, inside 933 Neal Street in Atlanta’s Vine City community, where corrupt officers of the Atlanta Police Department, with a no-knock warrant on a botched drug raid, broke into the wrong home, shot 92-year old Kathryn Johnston and fired 39 times. Six shots took her life. The tragic events of that evening led to the creation of the ACRB by the Atlanta City Council in 2007, giving civilians police oversight to launch thorough, independent, and transparent investigations of citizen complaints against sworn APD and Atlanta correctional officers.
Ms. Johnston’s home had been in disrepair until it was gifted to Helping Empower Youth (HEY). It is seeking to fulfill the community’s vision to transform it into a community resource center in honor of Ms. Johnston. HEY, an 11-year old grass roots community based non-profit, has dedicated itself to uplift the undeserved youth in the Washington Park, English Avenue and Vine City communities by building relationships with them and finding resources to offer science, technology, engineering, and math (S.T.E.M) based after-school programs, and reading tutorials.
HEY had been operating programs out of schools, churches, community centers, and after the pandemic, from the home of Co-Founder/Executive Director KaCey Venning. She stated, “We could not stop serving these young people, specifically the black male youth on the West Side of Atlanta”. Two years ago during the height of the COVID crisis, HEY started supporting the “so-called” Atlanta water boys with gloves, hand sanitizers, neon vests, bottled water, food. HEY has also assisted in helping many of the water boys to return to school, find part time jobs, and provided them with business training. Many of them did the work to refurbish 933 Neal Street. Now fully renovated, HEY’s first permanent home will serve as a beacon of hope for the community, an opportunity for West Side youth, and a legacy in memory of Ms. Johnston, the ACRB’s guiding light. “We just want to honor Ms. Johnston,” said Venning. “It was a tragedy how she lost her life here. We want to turn that tragedy into something good.” To the entire HEY staff, and especially the young men who put in the work to make it happen, ACRB salutes and thanks you!
ACRB at the New Black Wall Street Market on Stonecrest
ACRB thanks the New Black Wall Street Market for allowing us to meet and greet visitors to the market each month and share our programs, services and knowledge of civilian oversight of Atlanta police and corrections with them. Kudos to Lecester (Bill) Allen of the Allen Entrepreneurial Institute (AEI) and the City of Stonecrest for creating the New Black Wall Street Market at Stonecrest, an innovative first-of-its-kind, business incubator designed to help start or grow 100 minority and women-owned businesses and entrepreneurs and showcase their wares in an upscale mall. AEI also provides marketing support and training. The market aims to continue the legacy of Black Wall Street, Tulsa, OK, by increasing the size and number of such businesses and by encouraging and in-creasing their patronage. It is not only a family friendly shopping, gourmet dining experience and tourist destination, but also a community center, a location for a variety of live events and an Afrocentric cultural hub for artists, entertainers, restaurateurs, fashion designers, cosmeticians and others all under one roof inside a former Super Target Store. The market is the first phase of Mr. Allen’s vision for a New Black Wall Street Village. One of the biggest landowners in Dekalb County, Mr. Allen’s more than a billion dollar concept also includes the construction of a luxury hotel on the 330 acres he owns that would have storefronts to further expand their businesses.
ACRB Reaches Out, Where You Are
Thanks to the ACRB Integrity Street Team
ACRB owes a debt of gratitude to the members of the 2022 Integrity Street Team (IST) for greatly expanding our reach throughout the community this year by using their remarkable people skills to share the ACRB story with citizens at our outreach events. The diverse multi-talented team, representing the banking, movie, and the airport industries; small business, consulting, social media, and the military, shared one thing in common: a passion to serve others. (Top Left) Lillie Mae Jones with ACRB Communications Specialist, Melissa Jean-Baptiste; (Top Right): Colleen Valentine and Cameron Mitchell at the Mayor’s Midnight Basketball event. Center Left, Desmond Skeete as ACRB’s Justice Crusader mascot during the Camp Best Friends summer camps; (Center Right), Santosha and Natosha Madison at the Malcolm X Festival; (Lower Left) IST Field Supervisor Mitchell and Sherrida Morrison at Greenbriar Mall. If you share their passion to inform citizens about who we are and what we do, contact our Outreach Unit. (See below.)
Join the Integrity Street Team. Let ACRB be a part of your next event. Call the ACRB Outreach Unit:
Community Affairs Coordinator, Naomi Bonman at nbonman@atlantaga.gov, 470-598-2260; Outreach
Specialist Charles Curry at 470-217-0511, ccurry@atlantaga.gov; or
Communications Specialist Melissa Jean-Baptiste at 470-598-2222, mjean-baptiste@atlantaga.gov.
This is Why...
The keyword in the Atlanta Citizen Review Board is CITIZEN. The agency is only as effective as the level of citizen involvement. This is why… ACRB urges all citizens to regularly monitor, question and support its work. This is why… ACRB urges all citizens to know where your elected officials stand on civilian oversight of police and correctional officers. This is why… it is so important for Citizens to be registered to vote. This is why… citizens need to join and be active in community groups; get involved in Neighborhood Planning Units (NPUs); attend Public Safety meetings, Atlanta City Council meetings; ACRB KNOW YOUR RIGHTS Training Workshops, and become a member of the ACRB. There are currently, two vacant seats, which include: Atlanta Planning Advisory Board for NPUs A-F and one vacancy for an organization representing 18-to-30-year-old citizens. Call the public comment lines when Council or the ACRB votes on issues that matter to you. ACRB’s Public Comment Line number is 404-546-7848 and it is open on the second Wednesday of the month between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Your comments will be heard the next day during the monthly board meeting of the ACRB. Go to acrbgov.org for details. Thank you, citizens of Atlanta, for your continued support.
Mary Parker Foundation Serves the Southwest Atlanta Community With a Family Fun Fest
ACRB thanks philanthropist Mary Parker (left) and the foundation that bears her name for including the agency in the Family Fun Fest at its headquarters on Campbellton Road S.W. “I would like to say thank you for responding,” Ms. Parker stated, “because, you know, we can only do for the community what our agencies and everyone else have to come out and help us…Our mission is to serve our undeserved.” The foundation distributed back-to-school supplies for the fall term. There were games, music, food, health screenings, and vendors offering health, communication services and, of course, vital information about what they can do if they encounter misconduct by local law enforcement.
(Upper Left): Ms. Mary Parker. (Above): ACRB Communications Specialist Melissa Jean-Baptiste presenting ACRB’s services to citizens.