Atlanta PD pulls all officers from federal task forces
By: Christian Boone, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATLANTA — Atlanta police will no longer partner on task forces with the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration or U.S. Marshals because the federal agencies won’t allow officers to wear body cameras, the department said.
“The city believes that the public trust we lose from not wearing body cameras is not worth whatever gains we achieve by continuing to serve on these missions without the accountability that body cameras can provide,” said APD spokesman Carlos Campos, who said ending task force participation will not hinder efforts to combat drugs or collar fugitives. “We don’t have to be on a task force to go after gangs.”
In January, an Atlanta officer working with the FBI shot and killed a suspect who was hiding in a closet. Investigator Sung Kim was not wearing a body cam.
