Four Atlanta Police Department hopefuls were dismissed from a recruitment class after an altercation at an East Point business that involved one of them firing a gun.
The police department confirmed the incident but did not provide the names of the recruits or specific details about the dispute. In a statement, the department said all four police recruits had been separated “following off-duty conduct that did not meet the standards of our agency.”
A spokesperson did not say when or where the incident took place, although Channel 2 Action News reported the situation was a fight at UBar, which bills itself as an upscale sports bar in East Point. The spokesperson said the recruits weren’t yet formally employees of the department.
The most recent swearing-in ceremony for new APD officers was on July 8, department records show. At that ceremony, recruits were given their badges and guns, but are assigned to complete more field training before a formal graduation.
Another spokesperson said that some of the recruits involved in the altercation were part of that July 8 class, and some were part of the next class. The department said the four were not out celebrating their graduation because their training was not yet complete.
The recruits had been at a business in East Point when they were asked to leave and got into a fight with a member of the business’ security team, the agency said. It was during that dispute that a recruit discharged a firearm, the department confirmed.
“Actions that compromise the public’s trust or jeopardize community safety will not be tolerated,” the police statement read.
The East Point Police Department has not responded to a request for the incident report. No one at UBar answered the phone or an emailed request for comment on Tuesday afternoon.
The incident marks the second time in recent weeks a member of the APD has been involved in an off-duty altercation.
Last month, Garrett Rolfe, who was off-duty at the time, was involved in a fight with a Midtown bar employee. He was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation by APD’s Office of Professional Standards.
An arrest warrant stated two APD officers responded to a fight in progress at X Midtown shortly before 1:30 a.m. on June 29, where they met Rolfe outside the venue.
Rolfe, with a bloody nose, told officers that the employee grabbed his friend and started pushing and pulling him outside the business. Rolfe told officers that the employee began punching him and he “attempted to defend himself by delivering closed hand strikes to his body and face.”
However, the employee and eye witnesses said Rolfe and a friend were the aggressors and the employee was simply trying to protect himself.
The employee was arrested for battery and simple battery and taken to Fulton County Jail. He was released on July 1. Neither Rolfe nor his friend have been arrested or charged in connection with that incident.
Rolfe shot and killed Rayshard Brooks in 2020 after Brooks fell asleep in his car at a Wendy’s drive-thru in southwest Atlanta and subsequently struggled with officers as they tried to arrest him for driving under the influence.
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