Atlanta police commander speaks candidly about gun violence during city council meeting
Police commander: Hard for cops to be present for 'ridiculous' circumstances that lead to Atlanta shootings
An Atlanta City Councilwoman's exchange with an APD commander about gun violence revealed a candid response. He said it's difficult for law enforcement agencies to be present at the point a shooting breaks out. It's up for cops to find trouble makers, guns or drugs before violence breaks out.
ATLANTA - An Atlanta Police Department commander calls the gun violence that is occurring in the city right now "ridiculous."
That description came in response to a question from Marci Collier Overstreet, a member of the Atlanta City Council.
Overstreet represents the Campbellton Road corridor. She is upset over repeated incidents of gunplay, including a shooting just days ago.
Officers responded to a call of a person shot at 3910 Campbellton Rd SW. (Atlanta Police Department)
"What is our plan?" the councilwoman asked Darin Schierbaum, a deputy chief.
The commander gave a candid reply — one that officers are thinking but shy away from stating publicly.
In essence, Schierbaum told Overstreet it is unreasonable to believe officers can be in a position to prevent gunplay taking place anywhere in Atlanta.
"Much of this starts with something ridiculous," the commander explained. "You cannot expect us to be able to stop ridiculousness".
Schierbaum cited some progress noting that already this year, police have taken 472 weapons off the street.
In addition to that, most of the major crime categories are actually trending down from a period covering the last 28 days.