As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Bill Torpy wrote last week, “Violence is off the chain in Atlanta.” And that was before the holiday weekend’s mayhem which included 31 people shot, five of them fatally. One of those was an 8-year-old girl whose death prompted Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to pronounce that “enough is enough.”
“You can’t blame this on a police officer; you can’t say this is about criminal justice reform. This is about some people carrying some weapons who shot up a car with an 8-year-old baby,” Bottoms said. “We are doing each other more harm than any police officer on this force.”
Atlanta shootings are up 30% over last year so far. So you’d expect that Heronner would be pleased to hear that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has activated 1000 National Guard troops to help with law enforcement in the city. The plan is to have them provide security at the capitol building, the department of public safety and the Governor’s mansion so more beat cops can be out on the streets.
But the Mayor isn’t happy about the move. It seems the Governor didn’t ask her about it before issuing the order. Given the amount of violence on the city’s streets, you’d think she’d take all the help she can get right now, but…not so much.
From the Associated Press:
By Kate Brumback and Ben Nadler
The mayor of Atlanta said Tuesday that she doesnât agree with the Georgia governorâs order to mobilize the National Guard in her city as a surge in violence became a political talking point.
Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency on Monday and authorized the activation of up to 1,000 Guard troops after a weekend of gun violence in Atlanta left five people dead, including an 8-year-old girl.
The Guard troops will provide support at sites including the Capitol and governorâs mansion, freeing up state law enforcement resources to patrol other areas, according to a statement from Kemp’s office. There was no visible presence of Guard troops at either site Tuesday morning.
âPeaceful protests were hijacked by criminals with a dangerous, destructive agenda. Now, innocent Georgians are being targeted, shot, and left for dead,â the Republican governor said.
But Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said Kemp issued his order without asking if the city needed extra help. The city had already been coordinating with the Georgia State Patrol, and âat no time was it mentioned that anyone felt there was a need for the National Guard to come in,â she said on ABC’s âGood Morning America.â
Nikema Williams, the chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Georgia, called Kemp’s decision reckless. Critics of such mobilizations have said that deploying military troops on otherwise calm city streets could provoke more violence.
âHis choice to deploy National Guard troops for todayâs selfish purpose is outrageous and will endanger lives,â she said in a statement.
But Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia said Tuesday he agreed with the governorâs decision, and said lawless areas must not be allowed to exist in Atlanta or any other American city.
Secoriea Turner was riding in a car with her mother and another adult Saturday night near a Wendyâs that was burned after a Black man was shot by a white police officer in the restaurant parking lot last month. When they tried to enter a parking lot, they were confronted by âa group of armed individualsâ blocking the entrance, police said. The girlâs mother, Charmaine Turner said shots were fired and Secoriea was hit before they could make a U-turn.
Saturday nightâs fatal shooting of Secoriea prompted a $10,000 reward for information as authorities continue to search for at least two people who opened fire on the car she was riding in. It happened near the Wendyâs restaurant where a Black man, Rayshard Brooks, was killed by a white police officer June 12.
The fast food outlet was later burned, and the site had become a focus of frequent demonstrations against police brutality. Atlanta police helped sanitation crews clear the area on Monday of barricades as well as flowers, memorials to Brooks and posters protesting police brutality.
Secoriea was killed during a particularly violent weekend in Atlanta. Over the holiday period from Friday through Sunday, 31 people were shot in 11 different incidents, Atlanta police said.
When asked about a surge in violence in the city, the mayor said she thinks people are anxious and frustrated about the coronavirus pandemic and high-profile cases of police brutality.
âI think itâs just a perfect storm of distress in America,â said the mayor, who learned Monday that she, her husband and one of their four children have tested positive for COVID-19.
