It could be a long couple of days in “Hotlanta.” Folks who live there may have no police response tonight into tomorrow after a “blue flu” pandemic ran rampant through the department this afternoon and evening.
Cops are angry about the politically-motivated felony murder prosecution of now-fired officer Garrett Rolfe. Rolfe shot Rayshard Brooks last week after Brooks disarmed another officer of his TASER and tried to deploy it against Rolfe.
Atlanta’s Mayor ordered Rolfe fired, skipping the usual process to dismiss an officer. Because politics, of course.
As if that wasn’t enough, Fulton County DA has now charged the officer with 11 counts, including felony murder. The former cop now faces life in prison or even the death penalty.
Other members of Atlanta’s police force see this as a gross, politically-driven miscarriage of justice. And this afternoon, the illness call-ins began. Tonight, there are reportedly darn few cops on the streets of the city.
Meanwhile, the Atlanta Police Twitter page is doing its best impersonation of Baghdad Bob.
Earlier suggestions that multiple officers from each zone had walked off the job were inaccurate. The department is experiencing a higher than usual number of call outs with the incoming shift. We have enough resources to maintain operations & remain able to respond to incidents.
— Atlanta Police Department (@Atlanta_Police) June 18, 2020
But that’s not the story according to others.
Reports now: #Atlanta Police Zones 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 … police walk out and resignations, dispatch radios dead. Watch 3, 5, and 6 for dangers. Praying for good citizens who need police – or fire trucks and EMS. pic.twitter.com/Q8OXgl6wvk
— Miao (@MiaoReport) June 17, 2020
The size of the walkout is apparently huge. The story has even spilled into the media. From Decaturish:
Atlanta, GA — The head of Atlanta’s police union confirmed Wednesday that officers from the Atlanta Police Department in Zones 3 and 6 walked off the job Wednesday afternoon.
Vince Champion, southeast regional director of the International Brotherhood of Police officers, said that police officers had stopped answering calls midshift, in response to charges against Officer Garrett Rolfe who is accused of murdering Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta.
“The union, we would never advocate this. We wouldn’t advocate a blue flu,” Champion said. “We don’t know the numbers. Apparently we’re learning that command staff are asking outlying counties for support and aren’t getting it.”
Instead of working to solve this problem and protect her city’s residents, Atlanta’s far-left Democrat Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has gone into full Baghdad Bob mode herself, personally appearing on CNN to deny the obvious.
“We do have enough officers to cover us through the night,” says Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms amid reports officers are calling in sick.
“Our streets won’t be any less safe because of the number of officers who called out,” she adds. “…We will be fine.” pic.twitter.com/3X8Q4tglPb
— Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) June 18, 2020
Unfortunately for Mayor Bottoms, the police dispatch frequencies tell an entirely different tale. Their near complete silence speaks volumes for a lack of cops on the streets of one of America’s largest cities.
Listen to Zone 6 radios are silent not sure if this proves anything but still No Traffic at allhttps://t.co/TG2FrSgym8
— Kelly (@HuggieBear_BACA) June 17, 2020
Making matters worse for Bottoms, her calls for assistance from other surrounding agencies have reportedly been rebuffed.
As of right now, all zones 1-6 in Atlanta PD are not answering calls. Sheriffs office said no to mayor. Georgia State Police is only handling crashes. Correction officers from jail being forced to answer 911 calls. Mayor is freaking out.
— Rich Semmelmeier (@RichSemmelmeier) June 18, 2020
Many people who have been calling for the defunding of police departments around the country are about to find out what will happen if they get their wish.
Atlanta will serve as yet another example of why prudent Americans own guns to protect their families and homes from violent attack. Because when seconds count, cops are just minutes away. Or in the case of Atlanta tonight, the cops might not come at all.
Atlanta’s residents may get to experience their own real-life version of “The Purge” tonight.