InsiderAdvantage has reported extensively on the violent rising crime rate in Georgia’s capital city, as well as on the poor morale in the Atlanta Police Department. Our police sources say at least a dozen officers are leaving every month, and the department is already understaffed by over 400 officers since last summer.
Now comes revelation of resignation letters written by officers that were uncovered by The Washington Examiner which, to our knowledge, have not been revealed in the Georgia media.
The Examiner cites the example of Lt. Mark Cooper, who spent 26 years as a police officer. His goal was to hit the 30-year mark, collect his pension and leave, the paper reports. But that all changed. “Until last week I was proud to tell everyone I met with that I work for the Atlanta Police Department,” he said in his June 10 resignation letter. His pride vanished after the arrest of six Atlanta police officers and a video surfaced of them pulling two college students out of their car during a protest. The Examiner reported:
“The incident went viral and only added to the distance and vitriol growing between law enforcement and the people they are paid to police. Cooper said the officers were following directives from higher-ups but were thrown under the bus by leadership who should have had their backs. ‘The direction this department has taken is nothing more than sad,’ he wrote. ‘I was a long-time believer in our leadership, but I am now disappointed to find out just truly how poor it is.’”
The paper quoted Cooper saying he had to leave since he couldn’t “represent a department that does not support the backbone of that very department. It’s disheartening and it’s demoralizing.”
Officer and Atlanta native Thomas Crowder also resigned, writing:
“Today is my last day as a City of Atlanta employee and I would never have thought that I would be so happy to leave,” he wrote in his June 17 farewell letter. “I cannot see a reason that [an] officer who has been on the department less than 20 [years] would not leave. At this moment you guys have NO backing from your command staff. It is crazy that they could ask you to stay at work or even leave the precinct knowing that they are not going to have your back and is willing to fire you as soon as a citizen complains.”
These are only two examples of the continuing hemorrhaging of officers who are leaving the Atlanta force. They continually cite the “incompetence” of Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the lack of support from the chief and command— and especially the failure to respect due process when officers are involved in shooting cases.
And, remember, to our knowledge these revealing letters have never previously surfaced in Georgia media.
