A View From the Executive Director: Five Steps to a Comprehensive Complaint to ACRB
Lee Reid, ACRB Executive Director
Filing a complaint is an act of empowerment and a statement that you are concerned about the actions of an Atlanta police or corrections officer. It requires five essential actions to ensure that all available information is included in the investigation.
- Sign and return the complaint form – If you file a complaint by phone and receive a complaint form in the mail, you must sign and return the complaint form to the ACRB in order for an investigation to be initiated into your complaint. The signed complaint form can be returned by using the self-addressed stamped envelope mailed with the complaint form or in person at the ACRB office.
- Provide medical release form – If you are alleging that an officer injured you during a police interaction, you must complete a medical release form if you sought medical treatment. This is important to address your injuries fairly and accurately. If a medical release form is mailed to you, please sign it, and return it to the agency. The agency provides a stamped self-addressed envelope.
- Provide witness contact information – If you have contact information for witnesses, you must provide the contact details. This is important to include in your investigation. If possible, you should obtain the witness contact information before your interview so you can provide it to the investigator.
- Provide video/audio recordings – If you know about any recordings that captured your incident, you must provide the recordings. The recordings may provide additional perspective and information related to your allegations.
- Show up for your interview – If you file a complaint and the complaint is not anonymous, you must participate in the investigative interview. This is important to ensure that your experience is fully accounted for during the investigation. The interview may help you provide additional details that were not covered in your complaint filing.
ACRB Reaches Food Feasting Citizens at the Taste of Soul Atlanta Festival
Thousands attending the two-day Taste of Soul Atlanta Festival, in the shadow of Mercedes Benz Stadium on Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, took advantage of the great weather and lined up to sample the wide range of foods and cocktails and to enjoy music from two stages. The festival had much to offer local residents, tourists, and fans of live music. They not only enjoyed the festivities, but also acquired vital information from ACRB’S Integrity Street Team (IST) about what to do should they feel disrespected or mistreated by sworn officers of the Atlanta Police Department. Thanks to all the festival lovers who stopped by the ACRB booth, picked up our in-formation, swag bag of giveaways, subscribed to the ACRB, and signed up to serve on the IST. A special thanks to IST members Erich Harvey, Sherese Owens, Tamyra Hollis, Natosha and Santosha Madison for a job well done. “I am excited to be a part of the ACRB (Integrity) Street Team,” said IST worker Tamyra Hollis. “I enjoy and am especially grateful to be able to inform the citizens of Atlanta about the services available through ACRB, such as the investigation and mediation programs. I do support the ACRB for promoting solutions for the city.”
ACRB in Lakewood at the First 2023 NPU-Y Atlanta Unity Day
Members of the ACRB Board, staff, Integrity Street Team and the Justice Crusader were a part of the first 2023 NPU-Y Atlanta Unity Day at the Ali at Lakewood’s rear venue on Jonesboro Road SE. The festive event certainly lived up to its name as it brought together and celebrated the families from diverse neighborhoods in the South Atlanta corridor with their appointed and elected representatives who enjoyed free food, great music, games and essential information including how to file a complaint with the ACRB against an APD officer. District 4 Fulton County Commissioner Natalie Hall, District 12 Councilman Antonio Lewis and District 1 Councilman Jason Winston attended as well as ACRB Board members Gloria Hawkins-Wynn and Adrianne Proeller who represents the Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) S-Z cluster on the ACRB. “Today is a beautiful day for our community, said Lewis. “To see what we did together, and to see what it took to put it together, partnerships, right? This was Atlanta Citizen Review Board, Atlanta Worksource…the Carver Cluster, community members…volunteers… I’m excited to be a part of it.” Kudos to all the NPU-Y staff whose hard work made the first Unity Day a success. And a special shout out to the many service vendors, Integrity Street Team members Erich Harvey, DeQuez Lewis as the Justice Crusader who recruited more kids to his team and reminded them to remember what they see, remember what they hear, and always tell the truth should they encounter local police behaving badly.
ACRB Joins Thousands in Celebration of Mexican Independence
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month (from September 15 to In the October 15), ACRB was proud to join thousands at the Plaza Fiesta, a regional center for Latin American goods, food, and culture, for a massive commemoration of Mexican independence from Spain. It was the mall’s 20th Fiestas Patrias, a family-friendly festival, featuring a variety of cultural stage performances, educational activities, Mexican attire for sale, high-end vendors like Kroger, Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta Braves, and of course, plenty of delicious Mexican food. (Bottom photo left) Our intrepid Integrity Street Team (IST) of Sherese Owens, Tamyra Hollis, IST Field Manager Erich Harvey and DeQuez Lewis distributed some two thousand ACRB Spanish language information cards and other materials that exposed many citizens for the first time to the programs and services of a City of Atlanta agency that offers an opportunity to investigate complaints against Atlanta police and corrections officers. They reported ACRB was well-received. When asked to describe the experience in one word,
Hollis responded, “Exciting!”; Owens, “Awesome!”; Harvey said, “Immense!”; and Lewis replied, “Organic!” The team reported that language was not a major barrier to relay the message that they have an effective and safe place to go should they feel mistreated or disrespected by Atlanta police and corrections officers. “We hand out Spanish cards, so they know,” said Owens. And their reaction? Harvey said, “They’ve been very receptive to what we’re sharing. I…watch their reactions as they read what’s actually on the card (about our investigation and mediation services) because they’re not expecting that.” The team also ran an ACRB Spanish language public service announcement featuring singer/activist Sirena Grace. “We got this technology… It’s been kind of challenging, but we’ve been working it out…,” said Lewis. Given the great reception, ACRB looks forward to next year’s Fiestas Patrias.
About Police Officer Accountability and the ACRB
During the Taste of Soul Atlanta Festival:
“It’s always good to have checks and balances, to always follow up, no matter what your position is, there should always be someone to look out to make sure everyone’s doing their job, accountability.”
“I have grown twin sons. When they go out, I’m concerned cops going to arrest them, they get locked up, they’re wrongfully abused or something. Whenever they go out, as a parent, that’s my fear when they walk out the house. I say, ‘Make sure you’re on your best behavior. Don’t hang with the wrong crowd. Watch what you’re doing. Listen. Take those ear buds off. Look at every little thing. Don’t take anything
for granted because you could be at the wrong place at the wrong time. But be careful. You only have one (life) to live.”
“Continue to keep grinding and the spiritual path that God has you guys on. It doesn’t stop. It didn’t stop with Martin Luther King. It didn’t stop with Mahalia Jackson, but it keeps going and going and going until we break this cycle period that continues around the world. It doesn’t matter where you are or how you feel. This is a cycle that leads all of us to Heaven. Remember, we’re taking none of this with us.”
When asked, “Citizen oversight of police, do you think it’s a good idea?” Citizen responded, “I think that’s a great idea…because that’s another opportunity, another outlet to help the citizens.
During Public Comments at the September 2023 Monthly ACRB Meeting:
“I think that this is an awesome thing to do,” said Integrity Street Team member Sherese Owens. “I do help with certain events I go to. I do participate with handing out cards and pamphlets and explanation to let people know what the Atlanta Citizen Review Board is about. And I just really think it is an awesome thing that you guys are doing, and hats off, because a lot of people don’t know. And once they are informed, they are glad that they know about the Atlanta Citizen Review Board.
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 five vacant seats, which include representatives from the Atlanta Planning Advisory Board for NPU G-L, Atlanta City Council, the Office of the Mayor, an organization representing 18-to-30-year-old youth, and the Atlanta Bar Association. Call the public comment line when the ACRB votes on issues that matter to you. ACRB’s Public Comment Line number is 404-546-7848. 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.
ACRB Having Fun and Sharing Knowledge About Civilian Oversight of the APD
Midnight Market Atlanta is described as “an all night happy hour for foodies who love to eat, drink and dance.” For two weekend days in September, folks, age 21 and over, looking for a good time, waited in a multi-blocks-long line along the Atlantic Station Pinnacle Lot for a very special outdoor party featuring 30 food vendors and food trucks, offering samplings, small plate menus and wine-tastings. As they enjoyed free bowling, skating, a variety of activities; bars, live DJ and all night dancing, they also managed a few moments with ACRB’s Integrity Street Team (IST) members who shared information with them and explained what they can do if they experience local police misconduct. “The people were very receptive to the information and had lots of questions!” said IST member Tamyra Hollis. Many had not heard of the ACRB and were giving lots of thank you’s to us for spreading the word about the investigation and mediation programs. It was so effective and fun that ACRB intends to add this special party to its list of annual events.
