Original source: Atlanta Progressive News

(APN) ATLANTA – 30 community organizations called for police accountability during a rally at City Hall on Thursday, October 29, 2009.

A coalition led by Atlanta Building Locally to Organize for Community Safety (BLOCS) sent a letter to each of the Mayoral candidates prior to the General Election, asking that each pledge to lead a nationwide search for a new police chief, strengthen the Atlanta Citizen Review Board (ACRB), and call for a ACRB investigation of the Atlanta Police Department’s (APD) Red Dog Unit.

'Having a police force that is accountable to the community it serves is a bedrock principle of community and public safety,' Moki Macias of Atlanta BLOCS said. 'All of our Mayoral candidates have spoken of increasing numbers on our police force. What we’re now asking is that they commit to increasing the quality of the department by supporting community involvement and strong oversight mechanisms.'

Several speakers offered troubling testimonials about clashes with police.

Felicia Kennedy, a West End resident, witnessed APD officers beating an unarmed suspect in front of her house on October 15, she said. When she began taking pictures of the incident, the officers confiscated the camera and placed Kennedy under arrest 'for trying to be a member of my community.'

'What is happening is not community policing,' she said. 'We need a more responsible police force.'

Robby Kelley, co-owner of the Atlanta Eagle, experienced first-hand Red Dog tactics when 25 members of the controversial squad raided his club on September 10, a story first reported by Atlanta Progressive News.

Kelley recounted how officers stormed the bar with no warrant and forced employees and patrons to lie face down on the floor while the unit searched for drugs and inspected licenses.

He remembered officers enjoying the raid and using derogatory language, with one allegedly exclaiming, 'We should do this to a fag bar every week.'

'Not every member of the Atlanta police force are representative of [these officers],' Kelley said. 'But those responsible should be held accountable.'

The Atlanta City Council created the ACRB in the wake of the 2006 APD shooting of 92 year-old Kathryn Johnston to investigate questionable police action.

But without subpoena power, the ACRB remains a toothless body that has no ability to force APD cooperation.

Macias told APN three APD officers that week had said they would refuse to cooperate with any ACRB request unless Chief Richard Pennington directs them to do so.

'There is a culture here in the APD that is not accountable and is not transparent,' she said. 'We call for quality of officers before we have quantity of officers.'

Former mayoral candidate Kyle Keyser, founder of Atlantans Together Against Crime (ATAC), concurred that the issue is 'quality and not quantity when it comes to the Atlanta Police Department.'

'Not all police officers are bad,' former candidate Jesse Spikes said. 'There are many officers out there doing hard work and I will support those doing that work.'

Mary Norwood, Kasim Reed, and former candidate Lisa Borders were not on hand but representatives from the campaigns affirmed their support of the pledge.

Norwood's campaign first learned of the Atlanta BLOCS pledge when APN contacted their organization the day before the press conference. Norwood's campaign noted that they have stated their preference for a local police chief, although Atlanta BLOCS told APN they did not think that was inconsistent with the pledge because a national search could start locally.

There were also former candidates for Atlanta City Council on hand, including Dwanda Farmer (Post 1 At-Large), Darrien Fletcher (District 3), and former ACRB member LaShawn Hoffman (District 4), each of whom support the pledge.

Macias told APN that the community should be able to judge the police by 'how much they respect the community.'

'We want a transparent process... because that’s going to start them on the right path to healing with the community.'

For a list of the supporting organizations and excerpts from the BLOCS letter, visit www.atlantaprogressiveblog.com.