‘We have to stop’: Atlanta Council urges state patrol to curb high-speed chases

“We have to stop. This has been going on forever,” council member Antonio Lewis said of high-speed pursuits, speaking during Monday’s council meeting.

The resolution, while largely symbolic, is the latest effort to put pressure on state policymakers to amend GSP’s broad pursuit policy after an investigation over the past year by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found the agency’s pursuit tactics and loose chase policy have contributed to 1,900 people injured and 66 deaths over a recent five-year period.

The agency was involved in more than 6,700 pursuits over the five-year period ending in 2023, according to the AJC’s analysis. About 3,400 of those chases ended in crashes, with bystanders or passengers often the ones who suffered injuries or death.

The city council’s resolution noted GSP’s pursuit record, adding that the expansion of GSP’s operations within city limits “increases the need for clear, coordinated standards and oversight regarding the initiation of vehicle pursuits.”

The pursuit last month that ended in Little Five Points resulted in a crash that killed 19-year-old Cooper Schoenke. A driver fleeing a trooper on I-20 had exited onto Moreland Avenue and crashed into Schoenke’s car at the intersection with McLendon Avenue.

Schoenke’s mother, Kate Schoenke, still wonders why a police officer would conduct a pursuit in a heavily populated, high-traffic area.

“I understand the weight of their job,” she said during the public comment section of Monday’s council meeting. “But there needs to be some oversight on someone who is not just laser focused on ending this crash. There’s no other option for this sort of chase than a crash.”

Monday’s resolution was sponsored by Atlanta Council member Liliana Bakhtiari, whose district includes the Little Five Points neighborhood.

“I know how many people in our community helped raise Cooper,” Bakhtiari said.

“Cooper’s loss should never happen again. It never should have happened in the first place,” she said later.

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Within days of the fatal crash, state lawmakers, local political leaders and advocates started calling for changes.

They cited many of the findings in the AJC’s investigation, including the lack of supervisory oversight during GSP chases and the frequency of crashes that harm bystanders and passengers in the fleeing vehicles.

“We just feel that innocent people should not be killed and that at some point, police officers should call off these police chases so that innocent people will not die,” said state Sen. Gail Davenport, D-Jonesboro, speaking at a press conference within days of the crash. Davenport has introduced legislation in the past to try to limit police pursuits across the state.

The AJC requested an interview on Monday with Georgia Department of Public Safety Commissioner Col. Billy Hitchens, who oversees the GSP. Hitchens, through an agency spokeswoman, declined to comment. The agency spokeswoman also declined to comment.

The office of Gov. Brian Kemp did not respond to a request for comment on Monday. Mayor Dickens office did respond to a request for a comment.

While the Atlanta City Council has no authority over GSP policy, its resolution suggests changes that would limit pursuits to cases involving violent felonies, would require supervisory approval before initiating or continuing a pursuit, and would prohibit a controversial stop technique known as a PIT maneuver in densely populated areas. The maneuver involves a police vehicle intentionally bumping a fleeing vehicle to spin it out and bring it to a stop.

The resolution also requests that the Atlanta Police Department review its protocols for requesting support from GSP for pursuits.

In a previous statement, GSP said it is regularly called upon by other departments to assist in chases. According to the AJC’s analysis, GSP was the initiating agency for 87% of the pursuits its troopers were involved in from 2019 through 2023.

As friends of Schoenke’s family continue to mourn the teen, they have spoken publicly in support of more restrictive pursuit policies.

Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC

Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC

Scott Fleming, a family friend, said he visited Schoenke’s memorial over the weekend, near the Moreland Avenue intersection where the crash occurred last month. As Fleming placed fresh flowers in tribute to Schoenke, he said he pondered what a different approach from the state patrol could have meant for the teen.

“I reflected on how a revision to this policy that has proven successful in other states can help our law enforcement better serve and better protect our loved ones,” Fleming said.