CRB Recommends Suspension for Officers, Reprimand for Supervisors
The Atlanta Citizens Review Board recommended on Wednesday, January 19, 2011, that more than 20 officers involved in the Atlanta Eagle raid be given a three-day suspension, a written reprimand, and training on the Fourth Amendment.
The Board further recommended that the APD supervisors involved in the raid will receive a written reprimand and have first amendment training, with the exception of supervisor Kelly Collier, for whom the Board recommended a one-month suspension.
According to Creative Loafing magazine’s Fresh Loaf blog, Board Member Owen Montague recommended termination for Collier, but no one of the Board seconded the motion. Furthermore, Montague resigned after the end of the meeting.
The Board made its recommendations after the CRB issued a report on the raid, which the Board had requested after several members expressed the desire to issue sanctions above and beyond the APD’s recommended maximum punishment, which the Board usually uses as a standard.
According to news reports, raid victim Thomas Hayes expressed disappointment and outrage at the Board meeting.
Also, APD officers did not arrest anyone at the Eagle during the months prior to September 2009, during which they were undertaking undercover surveillance, despite alleging to have witnessed illegal sexual activities, because they were so shocked and “needed to regroup.”