Atlanta City Council urges Georgia State Patrol to reform pursuit policies

Area members rallied around GSP pursuit reforms in Little Five Points on April following the death of Cooper Schoenke Photo by Katie Burkholder The Atlanta City Council has adopted a resolution urging reforms to the Georgia State Patrol s vehicular pursuit policies and the Atlanta Police Department s protocols for requesting GSP backup The resolution sponsored by Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari and adopted by the ocuncil on Monday May urges the State of Georgia to implement reforms including the restriction of high-speed pursuits to violent felonies the requirement of supervisory approval before initiating or continuing a pursuit and the prohibition of PIT maneuvers in densely populated areas The resolution was adopted following the death of -year-old Cooper Schoenke who was killed in April during a police chase in Little Five Points GSP chased -year-old Faduma Mohamed after she refused to stop Mohamed ran a red light at the intersection of Moreland and McLendon Avenues and struck Schoenke s car In the days following the accident neighborhood members including Bakhtiari and Devin Barrington-Ward with the National Police Accountability Project advocated for the reforms Our system of policing has been very aggressive in our area Councilmember Antonio Lewis commented at Monday s meeting and what happened to Schoenke never should happen Every condolence in the world to Schoenke s family every prayer I can send to your family but we have to stop this The resolution further encourages Mayor Andre Dickens to advocate for these reforms and Police Chief Darin Schierbaum to conduct a review of APD s current protocols for requesting sponsorship from GSP especially for non-violent traffic stops or infractions According to national material cited in the resolution more than one person per day dies as a outcome of high-speed police pursuits Twenty-seven to percent of those fatalities involve innocent bystanders Other items approved by the council on Monday include ordinances providing continued athletic programs at Chastain Park and accepting million in federal funding for the improvement of South Downtown pedestrian enhancements The post Atlanta City Council urges Georgia State Patrol to adjustment pursuit policies appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta