The Atlanta Police Department released this statement Saturday evening from Police Chief Erika Shields, whose resignation was announced at a news conference by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

"For more than two decades, I have served alongside some of the finest men and women in the Atlanta Police Department. Out of a deep and abiding love for this City and this department, I offered to step aside as police chief. APD has my full support, and Mayor Bottoms has my support on the future direction of this department. I have faith in the Mayor, and it is time for the city to move forward and build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve."

» READ MORE: Erika Shields steps aside after 3½ years as APD chief

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Women walk through a John Portman skybridge in Atlanta on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. Portman, Atlanta’s most famous architect-developer, designed most of the skybridges in the downtown area. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

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Donald Trump's administration deployed the military to Washington, D.C., in the name of fighting crime, and in an Aug. 11 news conference he mentioned the possibility of military being sent to other large American cities, all of which are led by Black, Democratic mayors. And while Atlanta wasn't included in Trump's list, the city fits that profile under Mayor Andre Dickens. (Photo Illustration: Philip Robibero / AJC | Source: Getty)

Credit: Philip Robibero