An Atlanta city councilman and mayoral candidate who voted to withhold police funding about a year ago had his car stolen while he was attending an event.
Four people jumped into Councilman Antonio Brown’s car at Verbena Street NW in Atlanta and took off on Wednesday afternoon as he was participating in a ribbon-cutting ceremony, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. He was driving a 2016 Mercedes Benz, according to the police report.
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Brown told the police he had gotten out of his car to speak with someone when “several males entered his unlocked car and drove away with it.”
The four suspects were described by Brown to be between the ages of 8 and 11 years old, per the report.
“At this time, officers are gathering information on exactly how this happened and working to identify anyone involved in the incident and locate the stolen vehicle,” law enforcement officials said.
The councilman said one of the thieves “acted as though he had a gun,” adding, “You don’t immediately think, ‘Oh, these kids are going to steal my car.’”
Brown reportedly held on to the car and was dragged for about a block down the road before he let go.
Last June, Brown was one of seven city council members to vote in favor of an ordinance that would have withheld $73 million of the Atlanta Police Department’s budget until Mayor Keisha Lance Bottom’s administration drafted a plan to reinvent policing in the city, but it failed.
Had the bill passed, it would have withheld about a third of the operational budget until the end of last year.
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The vote came right on the heels of the death of Rayshard Brooks on the night of June 12, 2020. Brooks, who was black, and officer Garrett Rolfe, who is white, tussled with one another, and Brooks was able to grab the officer’s stun gun. Brooks was shot and killed.
Rolfe faces 11 charges, including felony murder, and he could face life in prison, life without parole, or the death penalty if convicted. He has been reinstated to the force because the department didn’t fire him according to guidelines.
