Franklin blasted for limiting access to police records

The city of Atlanta’s attempt to limit Citizen Review Board access to police files came under heavy fire Wednesday.

About a dozen citizens joined five city council members in blasting Mayor Shirley Franklin’s plan to reduce the group’s access to criminal investigation files.

“I cannot support something that will dilute (the board’s) power,” Atlanta City Council member H. Lamar Willis said. “There’s nothing to discuss.”

The City Council formed the review board in 2007 after the shooting death of Kathryn Johnston in a botched drug raid. The board’s purpose is to investigate complaints about the way Atlanta police and corrections officials handle citizen complaints.

Franklin’s administration has drafted a revision of the ordinance that created the review board. It would limit the panel’s access to pending criminal investigation files.

At Wednesday’s hearing before the city council’s public safety committee, Greg Pridgeon, Franklin’s chief of staff, and two assistant city attorneys said the change would bring the process in line with the Georgia Open Records act. The aim is not to limit public review, Pridgeon insisted.

“The independence of the Citizen Review Board is not in jeopardy,” said deputy city attorney Jerry DeLoach.

All five council members present — Willis, C.T. Martin, Cleta Winslow, Ivory Lee Young and Felicia Moore — said they oppose changing the current system.

Audience members who spoke agreed.

“The ordinance does its job,” said Citizen Review Board chairwoman Sharese L. Shields. She said the Franklin’s proposal “blindsided” the board. “It does not need to be amended.”

The public safety committee will likely have another public hearing before deciding whether to take action, said Winslow, who chairs the committee.