Following a disastrous weekend, with a random shooting of a jogger in Buckhead and the armed robbery of an NBA player Enes Kanter’s brother downtown among other gun-related crimes, the appearance of Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant in front of the Atlanta City Council took on even more importance. The city is grappling with inflating violent crime and murder numbers – during the middle of what will perhaps be a very heated mayoral race.
The Chief of Police was invited by Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore (and mayoral candidate) following the shooting in Buckhead. Despite being shot twice while walking on West Wesley Road, the victim in that case was miraculously walking – with the assistance of a walker – on Sunday. Two more shootings on Saturday sent two men to the hospital with gunshot wounds.
In Bryant’s appearance Monday at City Hall, he announced a restructuring of its investigations unit, a domestic violence team and an expansion of the gun assault unit. Bryant also announced the expansion of the license and permitting unit that enforces the laws regarding restaurants and clubs – in this case keeping the former from becoming the latter. Much of the crime in Atlanta has been a spillover from disagreements or arguments started in a club, often with the influence of alcohol.
For her part, City Council President Moore urged Bryant to move some officers from administrative duty to patrol shifts, increasing a police presence on the streets. Bryant agreed but noted that pulling from one area leaves another short until the department is fully staffed. Currently, the department is about 400 officers short of its more than 2,000 officer mandate.
“My plan is to continue to ask questions and raise solutions to keep the Chief accountable, including ensuring that as he works to hit staffing targets that these officers are spread equitably across the city,” said Moore.
Bryant’s appearance at the city council came on the same day that he was officially confirmed as the permanent chief in Atlanta. Bryant had been serving in an interim role since former Chief Erika Shields resigned in the wake of the shooting of Rayshard Brooks outside a Wendy’s in the southern part of the city.
“Chief Bryant has served the people of Atlanta with integrity and honor for decades and will continue to build trust between law enforcement and our communities,” said Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. “Since his interim appointment, Chief Bryant has led APD through several challenges, while earning the respect of the men and women of APD.”
Bryant has been part of the Atlanta Police Department since 1988 and was Assistant Chief before retiring in April of 2019. He joined back up as interim chief in June of last year.
