Atlanta Police Chief Reveals ‘Secret’ Plan For Heroin Crackdown
Atlanta Police Chief George Turner (shown in this archive photo with WABE’s Denis O’Hayer) spoke openly Tuesday night about efforts to eradicate heroin from “the Bluff.” He may have said too much though when he outlined future details of a crackdown.
Jason Parker / WABE
The head of Atlanta’s police force said a large-scale crackdown on the city’s heroin trade is in full swing.
But Chief George Turner, speaking Tuesday evening as part of an Atlanta Press Club panel on poverty, may have said too much.
Turner began by talking in general terms about the need to combat crime and reign in the heroin trade in northwest Atlanta’s English Avenue neighborhood. For decades, drugs and violence have crippled the area commonly known as “the Bluff.”
As an example of APD’s recent success, Chief Turner praised his officers for arresting 28 “violent offenders.”
But Turner went further, freely offering specifics about an ongoing — and apparently top secret — sting operation.
At one point the chief paused and joked that he probably shouldn’t discuss specifics because reporters were present.
Turner continued anyway, detailing how undercover officers will soon pose as drug dealers and take over heroin sales in the Bluff.
Those caught in the upcoming sting — what Turner referred to as a “call-in”— will have a choice: cooperate and enroll in education and job training classes or go to jail.
Police spokeswoman Elizabeth Espy declined to comment on Turner’s statements, but instead referred questions to the U.S. attorney’s office in Atlanta. Bob Page, the office’s public affairs officer, also declined comment.
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