As Atlanta braced for a fifth consecutive night of public protest, Mayor Kasim Reed said Monday that the nature of the demonstrations is changing and assured residents that the police department will continue monitoring the marches to ensure public safety.
There has been little violence connected to the Atlanta protests, although Reed mentioned incidents in which water bottles, insults and profanity have been hurled at officers. He praised the department’s commitment to remaining “calm and professional.”
“But they are exhausted,” Reed said of officers. “The least we can do is treat them with the dignity and respect that they deserve, and the dignity and respect you are asking for in your protests.”
Reed said officers have logged some 6,000 hours of overtime since last week, and that the department will continue working 12-hour shifts until the protests have run their course.
But there may not be an end in sight.
Monday’s protest was in Buckhead, in the area of the Lenox MARTA station.
“This is the business district,” Black Lives Matter Greater Atlanta chapter president Sir Maejor said. “This is where the money is.”
Past protests have been downtown, but Maejor said he wants to hit people dismissive of the group’s efforts in the pocket. “We want to be able to touch this demographic here,” he said, “This is where a lot of travelers pass by and we want to be able to affect these people as well.”
Sir Maejor, said the demonstrations would continue “as long as it takes.”
He said protesters have specific objectives: They want an easy-to-access database of complaints against officers and a policy of officers policing the areas near where they live.
“We are not doing this recklessly,” Maejor said. “When we march, people pay attention. … and then once we have your attention we can have the conversation.”
An estimated 15,000 people marched and demonstrated over the weekend — 10,000 on Friday night alone — in protest of police shooting African American men in Louisiana and Minnesota last week.
Atlanta had its own shooting June 22, when officer James Burns, who is white, shot in the head a 22-year-old African American man suspected of breaking into cars. Reed said Monday that Burns has been fired, but declined to comment on the case beyond that.
“Reed said they fired the guy, but are they bringing charges?” Maejor asked. “We have our own cases.”
The Burns' shooting is still under investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. A decision on whether to prosecute will be made by Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard's office.
During a Monday press conference, Reed said protesters Saturday and Sunday were less “family-orientated” and not “affiliated with community organizations.”
But Avery Jackson, who has marched every night as a member of Rise Up Georgia and Atlanta Black Students United, said it is the police department that is ratcheting up tensions. He said police have become more aggressive — pushing protesters and brandishing pepper spray.
“The mayor is trying to shape the narrative that the protesters are becoming more aggressive, but in reality it’s the police department being more aggressive and trying to reduce the number of protesters,” Jackson said. “It’s the authorities that are changing the environment.”
Fewer than 25 people were arrested over the weekend, and police clearly have employed a strategy of allowing the demonstrators wide berth before becoming involved. Saturday night, for example, demonstrators marched down the middle of Peachtree Street and through traffic. It wasn't until a group blocked an intersection that arrests were made.
Atlanta Police Chief George Turner said the department doesn’t plan to change its’ approach, which includes having officers dressed in regular uniforms and not in riot gear.
“I believe less is best … and that has benefited us over the last four nights,” Turner said, adding that protesters need obey laws and instructions from officers.
Paul Wertheimer, whose Los Angeles-based company Crowd Management Strategies advises governments and businesses on crowd control, said the use of riot gear by police can be provocative.
“Having officers dressed in normal uniforms suggests you can approach the officers, you can see their faces,” Wertheimer said. “But when police show up and the front line is in riot gear, it emboldens the fringe element who are willing to confront police.
“People need to be listened to. When people feel like they’re not being heard, it often results in anxiety and frustration, which can lead to violence.”
Fulton County leaders also held a press conference Monday, to offer help to the city and to let protesters know that there’s still work to do after the marches.
Fulton County Chairman John Eaves was joined by police officials and clergy members from throughout the county to say they want to be available to talk with the protesters: “I think as an elected official, I should always have an open-door policy.”
Reed said he doesn’t have a clear understanding of what demonstrators want from the city, and that it has been difficult “discern where there is a leader” of the movement. The NAACP has also been involved in organizing demonstrations.
The mayor said he can’t rule out asking for relief from the National Guard.
“At the end of another week, we’ll evaluate the situation and I’ll go to my command staff for recommendations,” Reed said. “The National Guard is certainly an option, although it’s not an option I prefer.The current configuration is the right configuration that has worked well for us.
“Fifteen-thousand protesters, 25 arrests seems like a good model.”
Go to ajc.com for a photo gallery of Friday night's protests.
Staff reporter Raisa Habersham contributed to this article.
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