Atlanta Progressive News

(APN) ATLANTA — The Public Safety/Legal Administration Committee of the City Council is expected to consider the proposed settlement reached yesterday between the City of Atlanta and the Plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit regarding the Atlanta Eagle raid.

Councilman Ivory Young (District 3), Chairman of the PS/LA Cmte, told APN yesterday that the Committee usually reviews all proposed legal settlements and that he expects the Eagle settlement to come before his Committee.

The next meeting of the PS/LA Cmte will be Tuesday, December 14, 2010 [this corrects APN’s reporting yesterday that PS/LA would not meet again until January].

However, with this Monday coming up being the last scheduled Full Council meeting of the year, even if the PS/LA Cmte approves the settlement on December 14, it likely would not go before Full Council until January 03, 2011.

Young and Councilman Michael Julian Bond (Post 1-at-large) told APN that it was unlikely that the settlement would be addressed at a special call meeting of the Full Council this month.

The Council is already considering having a special call meeting to address an airport bond issue this month, and while some items may be added to the agenda, Bond said he did not think it likely the Eagle settlement would also be added.

Councilwoman Natalyn Archibong (District 5), on the other hand, noted that often when the law department proposes a settlement that they encourage the Council to approve it as soon as possible so that none of the parties change their mind.

Young said the Committee would receive the proposed settlement from the City Attorneys, who would make a recommendation.  In this case, it would be a favorable recommendation, if they have already agreed to it.

Young said the agenda of the PS/LA Committee would list the dollar amounts of the settlement, when it is published, and that would likely be the first time the settlement amounts would be made public.

According to the court’s statement yesterday, the settlement includes a monetary payment to the Plaintiffs as well as policy and practice change within the Atlanta Police Department.

“Settlement Conference held on 12/3/2010. The parties have reached an agreement to settle this case, which they believe is in the best interest of the City, its residents, and visitors. This agreement includes monetary compensation and reforms of the Atlanta Police Department. Until this agreement is approved by the Atlanta City Council and by the District Court, the parties and counsel shall not make further comment to the media about this case,” the documents said.

While the approval of settlements is routine for the PS/LA Cmte, such settlements usually involve a monetary payment only.  The inclusion of policy changes in the settlement introduces a new element to the equation.

Even though City Attorneys have negotiated the proposed policy changes, it is ultimately the Council members who are responsible for setting City policy and vetting the proposed changes to ensure they make for sound policy.

Archibong noted that while the Council sets the policies for the APD, that the executive branch–that is, APD under the Mayor’s office–implements those policies through actual procedures.

Archibong said that consideration of the settlement could give the Committee the opportunity to look at policy and practice issues that normally do not come before the Committee.

She noted that the Committee may choose to separately adopt even stronger policy changes above and beyond what it agreed to in the settlement.

Meanwhile, the Court statement did not specify that the settlement would include an apology.  However, it is difficult to imagine the Plaintiffs would have settled without securing an apology.  In addition, two sources told APN two weeks ago, while the settlement was still being negotiated, that an apology was part of the package being discussed.

As previously reported by APN, Councilman Bond introduced a resolution in January 2010 offering an apology over the Eagle raid.  That resolution was held by PS/LA, pending the outcome of the lawsuit.

Bond said, that while he could not comment on the legal case due to the gag order, he did believe it was time for an apology to be issued.

He added that even if the settlement included an apology that he would still push for his resolution to be approved in addition once the settlement was finalized by the Full Council and the Court.

Previously, APN’s News Editor–the present writer–made a presentation a couple months ago before PS/LA regarding the need for policy and practice change, following the Atlanta Citizen Review Board’s findings that the APD was guilty of false arrest.

At that time, APD had responded that any policy changes would come as a result of the internal affairs investigation by the Office of Professional Standards, and that that report would not be released until after the lawsuit was over.

While the OPS investigation has been complete for some time, the report has been withheld pending the outcome of the lawsuit.  Attorney Dan Grossman for the Eagle plaintiffs told APN, “Having seen the report, I know why the City doesn’t want to release it.”

It is not immediately clear whether the Georgia Open Records Act exempts the report from public disclosure; however, presumably, the report will be released once the settlement is finalized.

Atlanta Progressive News broke the news about the raid the evening it happened.  Two weeks ago, APN also broke the news that the City and the plaintiffs were in mediation and that a settlement was near.   

APN at the time reported that two sources reported receiving letters regarding the proposed settlement. APN reported that the settlement offers were from the City, although a third source said the proposed settlement was something the Plaintiffs’ attorney had come up with.  It is not still not immediately clear where the proposed settlements in the letter originated.

The Court had issued a gag order regarding the mediation and had been displeased that the gag order was violated.  After APN published the first story regarding the settlement two weeks ago, all parties had become very tight-lipped about the entire settlement process.

(END / 2010)