By David Simpson
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monitors from state and federal law enforcement agencies will go to the scene of all future shootings of suspects by DeKalb County officers, Police Chief Terrell Bolton announced Wednesday, responding to a spate of fatal police shootings that have spurred a grand jury investigation.
DeKalb is believed to be the first major metro Atlanta police department to bring state and federal officials to shooting scenes to observe the police investigation.
“Today, the DeKalb County Police Department is saying we have nothing to hide,” Bolton said at a news conference, flanked by District Attorney Gwen Keyes Fleming and representatives of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI.
Bolton, in his second week on the job, said he asked the other agencies to help him address concerns raised last year, when DeKalb police shot to death 12 suspects, more than any other department in metro Atlanta. One officer also was killed.
Bolton said the GBI and DEA agreed to his request to supply investigators who will be trained in DeKalb procedures so that they can go to shooting scenes.
FBI offers training
The monitors from the other agencies will not write reports but will immediately alert the police commander on the scene if they see anything “out of order,” Bolton said. He said he was confident those agencies would not allow any problems to go unreported, and he promised he would alert the district attorney “or even the FBI” if he had evidence of wrongdoing.
The FBI cannot send a monitor to cooperate with DeKalb police because it could later be called upon to investigate the same incident, Bolton said. But he said the FBI has offered training help to DeKalb police.
Representatives of the DeKalb district attorney’s office already go to shooting scenes and review police shooting cases. But The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last week that records of many of those investigations are missing, and the surviving records show the DA’s office often relied on police reports rather than on independent fact-finding.
A special grand jury is expected to review last year’s 12 fatal shootings by DeKalb police. Bolton declined to comment on the cases Wednesday.
Officials in Fulton, Cobb and Gwinnett counties said Wednesday they have not called state or federal officials to the scene of shootings by their county police force. No information was available from Atlanta police.
Change of perceptions
Gwinnett District Attorney Danny Porter said the outside monitors may provide more public assurance than investigative help.
“I don’t see what these monitors will accomplish if they are not able to control the investigations of these shootings,” Porter said.
“Now I’ve never said that I felt that DeKalb had a problem with how they investigated their police shootings in the past, because I don’t. But they may think this will help change the way the public perceives their investigations.”
Porter and Cobb District Attorney Pat Head, who presents all police shooting cases to a grand jury, were surprised that drug agents would participate in shooting investigations.
So was Geoffrey Alpert, a criminology professor at the University of South Carolina who has studied police use of force.
“I think generally inviting other agencies to be part of an evaluation is very, very important. I think it shows some transparency, I think it shows some willingness to do it appropriately,” Alpert said.
However, he added, “You want someone who has credentials, who has experience, who has enormous knowledge of police shootings.”
Alpert said it is important for outside reviewers to look beyond the question of whether an officer committed a crime and to consider whether officers violated policies --- violations that might have contributed to the shooting.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in November that a review of police shootings from 2001 through 2005 showed an internal review board repeatedly found that officers violated certain key policies, such as forcing confrontations without adequate backup. Most of the officers involved received little or no discipline, and the department did not address the patterns in its training programs.
Keyes Fleming, DeKalb’s district attorney, and her two predecessors have said the district attorney has no mandate to look for policy violations. But the special grand jury expected to convene soon could consider whether to recommend additional oversight of police shootings, Keyes Fleming has said.
‘Supportive’ of officers
Around the country, some police departments are overseen by civilian review boards, some with full-time investigators. Other departments have full-time professional monitors who report to elected officials.
On Wednesday, Keyes Fleming said through a spokeswoman, “I think Chief Bolton’s multijurisdictional approach is a good step for DeKalb County and its citizens. We look forward to continuing to work with the Police Department and these other government entities.”
Iffat Muhammad, who has helped organize protests since her brother, Abraheem, was shot to death by an officer in August 2006, offered cautious approval of the new policy.
“It sounds good. It sounds like a step in the right direction. But honestly, I don’t know,” she said.
Muhammad’s brother, Abraheem, was killed by a DeKalb police officer in August. Her brother was shot by an officer checking on a trespassing complaint. He attacked the officer and tried to get her gun, police said.
Muhammad said she was disappointed that Bolton did not meet with families or community organizations before announcing his move.
At the news conference, the chief urged the department’s critics to judge police on their future actions rather than being “shackled” by the past.
Bolton also assured officers “that we’re going to be supportive” and praised county CEO Vernon Jones for his past statements defending police use of force.
“It takes a special leader to stand up for the men and women of the department,” he said.
Jones, who attended the news conference, said, “I’m excited about our new beginning here in DeKalb County for this Police Department.”
Jones said he earlier visited a new class of police cadets and learned they will receive extra training in “de-escalation” techniques to try to avoid violent confrontations.
Copyright 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution