What the agreement on reviewing police use of deadly force means
An agreement between the Atlanta Citizen Review Board and the Atlanta Police Department comes in the wake of nearly six months of talks on how to address findings by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the board had failed to open even one investigation of police shootings and custody deaths between 2020 and 2024.
What has changed? A new agreement requires Atlanta police to promptly notify the city’s independent citizen board that deadly force cases are ready to review.
Who does this agreement affect? Police officials are now required to let the board know within 24 hours that cases are closed by police internal affairs or that an officer has been cleared of criminal charges by the district attorney’s office.
Does the agreement have any teeth? The agreement, slated to go into effect immediately, is expected to become part of the police department’s manual so officers can be disciplined for failing to follow the 24-hour rule.
What does this agreement fix? An AJC investigation found that nearly four dozen cases languished when the independent board failed to open investigations. Its executive director, Lee Reid, claimed the police had failed to notify him that cases were ready.
What role is the citizen board supposed to play? The City Council expanded the board’s powers in 2020 to provide an independent review of all cases in which police allegedly exerted deadly force to citizens. The board has the power to recommend discipline and training to the police chief to avoid similar cases in the future.
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