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APD PR manager fired over daughter's criticisms of Chaka Zulu case
Rhonda Frost, the former public relations manager for the Atlanta Police Department, was reportedly fired after her daughter spoke out and showed video of the Chaka Zulu shooting. She has now filed a lawsuit against the city, mayor and police chief, claiming she was wrongfully terminated.
ATLANTA - The former deputy director of public affairs at the Atlanta Police Department is suing the City, Mayor Andre Dickens and Chief of Police Darin Schierbaum for wrongful termination.
Rhonda Frost says she was sent home, investigated and ultimately fired because her daughter criticized Atlanta Police for charging Ludacris' longtime manager, Chaka Zulu, with murder following a Buckhead shooting in 2022.
Those murder charges have since been dropped, but the case is far from over.
The former employee says she had stellar employment reviews for four years.
She says everything drastically changed when her daughter released video of the deadly shooting on Instagram and started blasting APD.
"My confusion is why the DA would charge Chaka Zulu with murder and aggravated assault after watching the video where he was attacked," her daughter, Shanae Hall, questioned on an Instagram post.
Hall grabbed national headlines when she released the video and talked about the deadly shooting in the Buckhead parking lot of restaurant Apartment 4B in June 2022 on Instagram.
It involved Hall's good friend and Ludacris' manager, Chaka Zulu, whose given name is Ahmed Obafemi. Zulu was shot in the back. Another man was killed, and two others were injured.
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 16: Ludacris and Chaka Zulu attend the "Fast & Furious 6" screening at Cinebistro on May 16, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Prince Williams/FilmMagic)
Her mother says it changed her life forever.
"How can you be charged with murder in a stand your ground state when you have been stomped into the ground by five grown men, as soon as you get to your feet, you pull your weapon and fire one shot, and you start to run back to your place of business?" Hall exclaimed. "How do you look at this video as law enforcement and you come up with, he's a murderer?"
Zulu fought back from life-threatening injuries in ICU and last November, Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis dropped all charges against him.
But Hall claims during that time the top brass at APD cast aspersions on her mother and wrongly believed Frost leaked the shooting video to her daughter.
"My mom is a civilian APD employee. My mom doesn't work in a detective unit or any type of capacity where she would have access to body ward camera footage," Hall insisted.
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Shanae Hall on Chaka Zulu shooting case: Full interview
Shanae Hall, the daughter of the Atlanta Police Department Public Relations manager who was recently fired, speaks out about the video she released showing the 2022 Buckhead shooting involving Chaka Zulu, rapper Ludacris' longtime manager.
Hall says APD does not own the surveillance video she released.
She claims her mom was investigated and sent home to work starting in November 2022.
Ten months later, Hall says officers came to her mother's home to inform her she no longer worked for APD.
On March 18th, Frost filed a federal lawsuit against the City, APD and the mayor.
"I just never thought that my mom's job would be in danger because of my actions, and further, I never thought the chief of police would go so far as to send her home for 10 months, pay her to stay at home and do nothing," Hall said.
Rhonda Frost and her attorney were present when FOX 5 interviewed her daughter, Shanae. She was advised by counsel not to comment on the pending case.
FOX 5 also reached out to APD and the mayor's office for comment. We're told the department and the city do not comment on pending litigation.