I know this isn’t much for the basis of a report, but the wife of an Atlanta police officer tweeted an hour ago that 70 officers have resigned from the force:
70 resignations as of right now from APD. And the silence from leaders is deafening.
— OnyxU (@Onyxcatredpill) June 19, 2020
If that’s true that is huge! And I suspect it is true, as she would probably know.
Last night she identified herself as the wife of an Atlanta police officer:
Prayers please. Husband is Atlanta PD. Stuck at hq because the protesters are surrounding it. All zones have walked off the job and other shifts called in
— OnyxU (@Onyxcatredpill) June 18, 2020
Here are a few of her other tweets for context:
Do not believe the ATL mayor or CNN …. they asked for help from other jurisdictions and they all said no. The dispatchers just all walked out.
— OnyxU (@Onyxcatredpill) June 18, 2020
Just got confirmation… APD is still silent. Chiefs are freaking out. Your voices are being heard. We will not be your political pawns. Ever. For 20 years my family has sacrificed everything to make the City of ATL better. We have zero leadership.
— OnyxU (@Onyxcatredpill) June 18, 2020
Did you know that 60% of APD is African American? Do you honestly think they would be standing by their fellow officers if this was a race issue? No! Many of us condemned what happened to George Floyd. This is not the same. It’s all political
— OnyxU (@Onyxcatredpill) June 18, 2020
She even screenshotted this plea for help from a staffing agency:
All of that said, so far I can’t find anything to corroborate her numbers thus far. But I did find the AP reporting on more walkouts today:
Atlanta police officers called out sick Thursday to protest the filing of murder charges against an officer who shot a man in the back, while the interim chief acknowledged members of the force feel abandoned amid protests demanding massive changes to policing.
Interim Chief Rodney Bryant told The Associated Press in an interview that the sick calls began Wednesday night and continued Thursday, but said the department has sufficient staff to protect the city. It’s not clear how many officers have called out.
“Some are angry. Some are fearful. Some are confused on what we do in this space. Some may feel abandoned,” Bryant said of the officers. “But we are there to assure them that we will continue to move forward and get through this.”
While some have hailed the prosecutor’s office for moving quickly in the Brooks killing, Bryant said he was surprised at the speed, noting that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation hadn’t yet finished looking into it.
He would not say how many officers called out. But just one officer showed up for work Thursday morning in one zone, which several dozen are assigned to patrol, according to Vince Champion, southeast regional director for the International Brotherhood of Police Officers.
Atlanta officers are walking off their shifts or not responding to calls because they feel “abandoned, betrayed, used in a political game,” Champion told the AP.
Champion said he’s heard from several officers that they fear using force to protect themselves will get them fired or arrested.
Note the article says “just one officer showed up for work Thursday morning in one zone, which several dozen are assigned to patrol”. This is another reason why I believe these mass resignations could be true.
Another reason I believe it’s true is because Atlanta police officers suddenly got a $500 bonus for working hard during the protests:
JUST IN: Every Atlanta police officer to receive a one-time, $500 bonus today as thanks for their hard work during protests and COVID-19: https://t.co/HbzOjukwxS pic.twitter.com/ufKSYUpHBi
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) June 18, 2020
Like $500 is going to fix the damage this mayor and DA had done to the Atlanta police department.
Oh, and just to be clear….
❗️❗️IMPORTANT❗️❗️
What is happening in #Atlanta PD is NOT #BlueFlue. This is NOT a protest. Officers are refusing to show up because they can no longer do the job under protection of the law and they are being killed & even charged with murder without an incident investigation!— Jonathan T Gilliam (@JGilliam_SEAL) June 19, 2020