Inside City Hall: Georgia Dems call for body cameras in wake of Atlanta training center autopsy
Several Georgia Democrats last week tweeted their frustrations with Atlanta’s police training center controversy after DeKalb County released a long-awaited autopsy on Manuel “Tortuguita” Teran.
Teran was protesting the project in DeKalb in January before being shot by a Georgia State Patrol trooper. Last week, the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office reported gunshot residue was “not seen” on Teran’s hands.
The findings energized those who disputed the GBI’s claim that Teran fired first at the troopers. However, they are not conclusive because gunpowder is not always visible to the naked eye. A gunshot residue kit was performed, but those results have not been returned from the GBI Crime Lab, the medical examiner’s office told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
State Sen. Jason Esteves, D-Atlanta, called for state troopers to wear body cameras while on duty. State Rep. Saira Draper, D-Atlanta, said the same thing. She also criticized the closed-door meetings of the mayor’s new training center advisory group. Mayor Andre Dickens changed his stance on the meetings on Friday.
But Atlanta’s state leaders aren’t the only ones upset after the autopsy. Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, said state police need body cameras. He also denounced the “trumped up” domestic terrorism charges against protesters.
State Rep. Ruwa Romman, D-Duluth, said the training center “cannot be built because we’ve been shown time and again that communities are being lied to.” She also disagreed with the way the plan is “being forced down the throats of everyone.”
And State Sen. Nabilah Islam, D-Lawrenceville, said she’s calling for an independent investigation. She also said she’s going to speak with her fellow colleagues on the Senate Committee on Government Oversight to call for a hearing concerning Teran’s death.
“We must hold those who shot and killed Tortuguita accountable,” she said.
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Quote of the week:
“You have accomplished what very few people have been able to do, and that is to be liked by everyone in this building."
Dickens and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms joined several current and former elected officials last week to celebrate Foris Webb III, who just retired after serving the city since 1989. Longtime Deputy Municipal Clerk Vanessa Waldon is serving in Webb’s stead in an interim role as the City Council creates a hiring committee to select Webb’s replacement.
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Beltline: Former City Councilor H. Lamar Willis is returning to public service as a member of the Beltline Tax Allocation District Advisory Committee. Willis served in Atlanta’s Post 3 council seat before Dickens bested him in 2013. The Georgia Supreme Court that year barred Willis from practicing law for putting an injured child’s $30,000 settlement into a bank account he controlled, violating legal ethics.
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Youth: Atlanta is donating $100,000 to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change to support its Nonviolence 365 training for 400 Atlanta youth.
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ADA: Atlanta and the Construction Engineering and Management Company are entering into a special, two-year procurement contract for more than $673,000 to build new crosswalks, stop bars, sidewalks and ramps at North Highland Avenue and Macon Drive and the Old Hapeville/Bromack intersection. The work is designed to bolster the city’s compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
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Watchdogs: Atlanta’s Ethics division has regained its full independence from the city’s Office of the Inspector General thanks to a charter amendment vote from city council.
Ethics Officer Jabu Sengova told us she’s looking forward to working with the OIG as co-partners without either office eroding the independence of their ability to root out corruption at City Hall.
The new charter amendment also requires city officials and employees, as well as contractors and vendors working with the city, to cooperate with the OIG and Ethics for investigations and reviews. Whistleblower protections were also added, among other changes for clarity.
About the Authors
Riley Bunch is a reporter on the local government team at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution covering Atlanta City Hall. She covers the mayor and Atlanta City Council while also keeping an eye on the city’s diverse neighborhoods.
Wilborn P. Nobles III covers Atlanta City Hall for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He began covering DeKalb County Schools for The AJC in November 2020. He previously covered Baltimore County for The Baltimore Sun and education for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. He interned at the Washington Post. He graduated from Louisiana State University.
