Atlanta City Council on Monday confirmed Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ appointment of Rodney Bryant to serve as permanent Chief of the Atlanta Police Department.
The council’s vote comes after Bryant told the council he is “immediately restructuring” his department following another violent weekend in the city that involved a brash shooting spree that left residents on edge.
The councilmembers voiced concerns about the violent crime wave, but they also put their confidence in Bryant’s efforts to make Atlanta safer. Bottoms did the same thing in a released statement after Bryant’s confirmation.
“Chief Bryant has served the people of Atlanta with integrity and honor for decades and will continue to build trust between law enforcement and our communities,” the mayor said in a statement. “Since his interim appointment, Chief Bryant has led APD through several challenges, while earning the respect of the men and women of APD.”
The mayor appointed Bryant as interim chief in June 2020, taking the helm of the department hours after Chief Erika Shields submitted her resignation. Atlanta entered the national spotlight a day earlier after a white police officer fatally shot Rayshard Brooks, a Black man.
Bryant initially joined the department in 1988 and had risen to assistant chief before retiring in April 2019. He’s currently working to increase community policing by fostering relationships with Atlanta’s young people through partnerships with the Police Athletic League and the Atlanta Police Foundation’s At-Promise Center.
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