EVEN COPS HAVE RIGHTS

Fired GA Cops Reinstated

by Bob Walsh

Two Atlanta P D officers, who were fired on day after a video went viral of them using force against two college students, were ordered reinstated by the Civil Service Board.

Officers Mark Gardner and Ivory Streeter (both Black) were sacked pretty much instantly after the video hit the net.  Trouble is, according to the Board, the city "did not follow the personnel regulations of the Atlanta Code of Ordinances in the dismissal."

The cops ordered the two students to turn their vehicle around and leave the area.  They were in violation of curfew and the city was in the midst of a full-fledged riot.  There were so many shots fired reports the cops didn't even bother calling them in. Former Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields stated that the decision to fire the officers was made under extraordinary circumstances, which I guess was supposed to justify not following their own laws.  Chief Shields asserted that she did what she had to do to make sure the city was stabilized.  In other words, she deliberately threw her own cops under the bus to quiet the mob.

Officer Gardner had been with the  P D for 23 years, Officer Streeter for 16 years.  They could still face internal review and potentially criminal charges for the original incident.  Four other officers were investigated in the incident.  They are still with the department.