Local

Atlanta Police Union Sides With Those Suing APD

March 18th, 2015

The head of the Atlanta Police Union says the city of Atlanta isn’t properly training its officers, and in an unusual twist, Ken Allen ─ International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 623 president ─ has written a letter supporting a lawsuit against the department.

The letter, filed late Tuesday with Atlanta’s federal court, says the department’s shortcomings open officers to disciplinary action and the potential for criminal liability.

Allen’s letter is the latest in an ongoing lawsuit against the city, which argues the Atlanta Police Department isn’t following court-ordered reforms related to the 2009 botched raid on the Atlanta Eagle, a Midtown gay bar. Attorneys also claim APD has failed to properly train officers about citizens’ rights related to videotaping police.

In response, the city admits it didn’t follow the judge’s ruling, but says the failure to comply was inadvertent.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys, however, filed what they say is proof the department’s non-compliance is no accident. The documents indicate Atlanta Police did change the department’s standard operating procedures (SOP), as the court mandated. But a later review of the SOPs shows the department later changed the language back to its original wording.