Atlanta-area law enforcement apparently failed to pursue a suspect vehicle involved in a drive-by shooting as crime in the city continues to rise, according to a video released Monday.
A white sedan can be seen firing and striking a black van as bystanders flee the area, according to video from Bill White, the leader of the Buckhead City Committee, an organization of neighbors that seeks to fragment from Atlanta. Blue lights appear after the gunfire, though authorities are not seen chasing the white vehicle.
White, who described the scene as “horrifying,” blamed the city’s pursuit policy, which bars officers from chasing suspects unless law enforcement has “direct knowledge” that a suspect committed a “forcible felony.” The guidelines, which Democratic Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms spearheaded, require supervisor approval before a policeman can engage in a pursuit.
SUBURBAN RESIDENTS WANT TO BREAK FROM ATLANTA AND CREATE OWN POLICE FORCE
“My friend who took that video ran down to find out why in God’s name they didn’t chase down that person who attempted to murder all those people, and they were told that Mayor Bottoms issued an order not to chase cars around Atlanta because she doesn’t want the police getting in accidents,” White said on Fox News.
The Atlanta Police Department called White’s claims “blatant falsehoods and distorted facts,” according to a statement given to the Washington Examiner. The department said the officer present during the shooting “chose to secure the scene and provide a lookout of the suspect vehicle to additional responding officers.”
While there, the policeman “provided medical care to preserve the life of the wounded” and placed a tourniquet on an individual who was hit by gunfire, the department added.
“The officers with the APD work hard each and every day and deserve better than to have their reputation slandered by false information being peddled by a member of the media,” a spokesperson for the department said.
“It is extremely frustrating to see our efforts minimized and used in the manner they have been,” he continued. “We are proud of the efforts of our officers, as well as the efforts of those who responded to assist. We are also proud of the work our investigators have put into this case. We have some of the best investigators in the business and are confident the person behind this shooting will be brought to justice.”
Buckhead, an upscale suburb within Atlanta, was set to arrange emergency meetings with Atlanta officials to become its own municipality after months of quibbling with officials over rising crime.
White’s organization placed two bills in the Legislature and gained the necessary funding to see a ballot initiative as early as November, he said.
White is also vying for Buckhead to have its own police force if the town is able to divorce from Atlanta.
“We are living in a war zone,” he said. “That’s how we describe living in Buckhead. What has happened here in the last several years is an incredibly dangerous spike in crime and a complete vacuum of leadership.”
“The police in Atlanta are great men and women. We love them,” he added. “They just want to do their job, and they’re not being allowed to do that.”
Several incidents in the city over the past month have spurred action from residents within Buckhead. Over the weekend of June 5, a man named Andrew Worrell was shot, seemingly at random, while taking a walk in Buckhead. The 41-year-old’s wife Anne posted a picture of him at a local hospital with an update on this condition.
One day later, a man was shot and killed at a hotel in Buckhead. His brother was subsequently charged in connection to his death.
In Brookhaven, which is 5 miles from Buckhead, a pregnant woman, Valerie Kasper, was stabbed in the back after a man approached her while she walked with her son. She has since been forced to have an emergency cesarean section after five months of carrying the child. She and the baby are expected to survive.
“It’s amazing to me that I got stabbed four times, and nothing was destroyed,” Kasper said Tuesday. “He didn’t hit the baby. He didn’t hit the womb at all. It’s just a miracle.”
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Atlanta has seen a 58% increase in murder, a 97% jump in rape, a 28% spike in aggravated assault, and a 38% uptick in car thefts, according to the most recent crime statistics from law enforcement.
The Atlanta Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
