In a significant move towards transparency and accountability, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum recently addressed the city’s review board, acknowledging its previous failures to investigate police-involved shootings and civilian deaths in custody over the past four years.
This pledge emerges in response to a troubling investigation by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which revealed that the citizen board had not conducted inquiries into any of these critical incidents since it was granted expanded powers in 2020.
The board was empowered to investigate police use of deadly force and hold public hearings following the high-profile deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta.
Schierbaum expressed remorse for the police department’s role in the delayed investigations, vowing to enhance the process in the future.
“I was very grieved to learn that we had in the past not informed the board promptly of officer-involved shootings in the city, and we moved quickly to make sure we addressed that,” Schierbaum stated during the review board’s meeting.
“You should expect promptness and transparency from our office.”
Both the police department and the citizen board are now collaborating to formalize an agreement regarding how the police will notify the review board about incidents involving deadly force in the future.
This development comes after the revelations prompted considerable public outcry, including strong reactions from the City Council and Mayor Andre Dickens.
Councilwoman Andrea Boone, who chairs the council’s public safety committee, has been a vocal advocate for reforming the board’s operation.
Boone stated that while the agreement is a step in the right direction, additional modifications to the city’s ordinance governing the board may be necessary.
City Council staff have also reached out to other municipalities to gather information on best practices for police oversight boards.
“We definitely needed something in writing,” Boone emphasized.
She noted that the Civil Service Board’s decision to uphold the termination of former Atlanta police officer Kiran Kimbrough following the fatal arrest of Johnny Hollman was a positive outcome for the city.
The review board is also set to independently investigate the circumstances surrounding Hollman’s in-custody death.
Hollman, a 62-year-old man, lost consciousness after being tased during an encounter with police in August 2023, after he refused to sign a traffic citation.
Subsequently, the city revised its ticket signing policy and reached a $3.8 million settlement with Hollman’s family as a result of his death.
“Bringing all of this to the attention of the public is helping. The mayor also wants this citizen review board to function correctly,” Boone stated.
In a statement released Wednesday, a city spokesperson reiterated the mayor’s full support for Chief Schierbaum’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
“This is a critical step in strengthening community trust and ensuring our public safety practices reflect the values of our city,” the spokesperson noted.
The Executive Director of the review board, Lee Reid, is expected to provide an update on the board’s progress at an upcoming meeting of the council’s public safety committee, led by Boone, scheduled for April 28.
Reid was assertive during a February committee meeting, maintaining that the board had not acted improperly.
However, City Council member Dustin Hillis challenged Reid, suggesting that he was too passive, waiting for cases to be presented to him rather than proactively pursuing them.
Disagreements exist regarding when the review board should initiate its investigations.
Reid has indicated that his board must await the district attorney’s office and the police department’s internal affairs investigations before commencing their own reviews.
Yet, a civilian oversight expert argued against this practice, stating it is atypical for police oversight boards to defer to police investigations, which can often take several years to conclude.
In August, Schierbaum took a significant step by directing the police department’s internal affairs to begin its investigations into officers’ conduct without waiting for the district attorney’s office to determine potential charges.
The Atlanta Police Department stands as the largest police force in Georgia, with over 1,600 officers. Established in 2007, the review board was designed to independently assess citizen complaints against officer misconduct and recommend disciplinary actions, reforms, and training improvements for the police department.
Following the 2020 expansion of the board’s powers, it was tasked with obtaining the authority to investigate all police shootings and in-custody deaths.
Board members are set to review and discuss the forthcoming agreement before its finalization, although no specific date for this workshop has been announced yet.
Kelvin Williams, the chair of the review board, did not respond to requests for comment from the media.
The Atlanta Police Department handled over 600,000 calls and engaged with more than 1 million residents last year, Schierbaum informed the board.
Throughout that same period, the department recorded eight police shootings and one death in custody.
Looking ahead, Schierbaum emphasized his expectation that all officers would treat every individual with respect while responding aptly to every call.
He praised the 15-member review board for its ongoing work in police oversight, aligning their mission closely with that of the police department.
“You all serve in a volunteer capacity, but you have the same mission as I do as chief of police, which is to have a trusted police department,” Schierbaum concluded.
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