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Fired APD officer had Previous Excessive Force Complaints
The Atlanta Journal Constitution ^ | June 1, 2020 | Christian Boone & Jennifer Peebles

Posted on 06/01/2020 10:03:38 AM PDT by Cecily

One of the Atlanta Police Department officers fired Sunday for forcibly arresting two college students had previous complaints of excessive force that were upheld after an internal review, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned.

Mark Gardner, who joined APD in 1997, was the subject of four citizen complaints from Richard Williams. Two of the complaints against Gardner were for "maltreatment or unnecessary force" and two were for violation of the department's policy on personal weapons.

The charges were sustained in 2016, according to APD data previously provided to the AJC. The officer received written reprimands for two of the complaints; no action was taken on the other two allegations.

(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events; US: Georgia
KEYWORDS: atlanta; christianboone; georgia; jenniferpeebles; kumbaya; lookwhohatescops
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To: abb

You are correct. For years I have been convinced that ANY and ALL Public Employees have no moral right nor grounds that justifies their ability to join in ANY kind of collective bargaining agreement with their Tax Payer funded employer(s). NONE! Not one single thing has happened to make me waiver, even in the slightest, from that position.


21 posted on 06/01/2020 10:51:46 AM PDT by Howie66 ("...Against All Enemies, Foreign and Democrat.....")
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To: Howie66

Remember the Houston drug raid last year where the couple was shot to hell by the rogue drug unit? The first person to run in front of the TV cameras was that pencil neck Houston PD union head.


22 posted on 06/01/2020 10:54:54 AM PDT by abb
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To: Cecily

End no knock warrants except in very rare circumstances.

Learn de-escalation techniques.

Learn proper command systems in crisis, i.e. one speaker only.

I wouldn’t look to the IDF. They have, understandably, an us vs. them mentality, and that is already a big problem with American policing.


23 posted on 06/01/2020 10:55:15 AM PDT by heartwood (Someone has to play devil's advocate.)
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To: RedStateRocker
Yes. but it is asking a lot of men and women to speak out against others they work with. A hiring manager is unlikely to ever have to go into an active shooter situation and needing to depend on someone who they called out to have their back.
Gosh, I lost sight of him, heard shots and found him laying on the ground. Oh lookie!, the shooter dropped his gun and ran!
The hiring manager and anyone else who would knowingly sign off on a bad hire is the weak link.
24 posted on 06/01/2020 10:59:10 AM PDT by null and void (By the pricking of my lungs, Something wicked this way comes ...)
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To: Nifster

ROFL!!!!


25 posted on 06/01/2020 11:02:13 AM PDT by Jrabbit
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To: Cecily

>> How can police departments around the country improve?

Cut the employment rolls to 35%. Triple the pay. Require advance degrees in constitutional law. Mandatory retirement by 50. No pensions. Subject to capital punishment for egregious crimes.


26 posted on 06/01/2020 11:02:35 AM PDT by Gene Eric ( Don't be a statist!)
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To: RedStateRocker; Alaska Wolf; DCBryan1; Slings and Arrows; Doomonyou; napscoordinator; Shimmer1; ...
Thanks for the reminder, I forgot to ping the list...

JBT Ping list

“Any police department (or university faculty, or military unit, etc.) is only as good as the worst psycho they tolerate.” ~ H/T RedStateRocker


27 posted on 06/01/2020 11:04:04 AM PDT by null and void (By the pricking of my lungs, Something wicked this way comes ...)
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To: null and void

“Yes. but it is asking a lot of men and women to speak out against others they work with.”

Perhaps.

But if you give someone a gun, body armor, a tazer, batons, cuffs- and the presumptive authority to use them to kill or beat the crap out of anyone they want for nearly any reason, specifically including resisting arrest, I damned well think it’s not too much.

These aren’t grocery store clerks or teachers, these are people who can order citizens around and damage or kill them if they do not comply or even ask questions.

I feel I have a right *TO* ask a lot out of anyone with that kind of power and authority.


28 posted on 06/01/2020 11:06:42 AM PDT by RedStateRocker (Nuke Mecca. Deport all illegals. Abolish the DEA, IRS and ATF,.)
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To: precisionshootist
AR15s are the most popular civilian MSP in America. Why shouldn’t police officers have access to them? Why should police officers dress like milkmen? A few years ago in my town a troubled man had a meltdown. I believe he killed his wife, had another family member hostage, and was firing on police from inside his home when they responded. This was by a busy road. They called in a SWAT team from the county. How else would you suggest such a situation be handled if the police are disarmed as you wish, and there is no SWAT team to call?

Look at Norco, North Hollywood, any number of similar incidents from the 1980s and 1990s. How would you suggest such incidents — that played a huge role in the “tacticalization” of police — be dealt with? No groups of armed citizens turned out to assist. The police were outgunned -and unsupported.

29 posted on 06/01/2020 11:08:27 AM PDT by TheDandyMan
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To: abb

I remember that well. Totally disgusting.


30 posted on 06/01/2020 11:09:19 AM PDT by Howie66 ("...Against All Enemies, Foreign and Democrat.....")
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To: Gene Eric

Agree.

We need fewer police, but much better trained (and paid) ones. Less SWAT equipment and a lot my training in psychology, de-esclating conflict, constitutional law, very advanced martial arts to be able to disarm and subdue instead of going Tueller drill.

In some areas a cop is more like a bomb technician or a fighter pilot; *ONE* mistake and a good chunk of a city can be damaged; such people should be among the best paid public servants and the most highly trained ones.


31 posted on 06/01/2020 11:12:39 AM PDT by RedStateRocker (Nuke Mecca. Deport all illegals. Abolish the DEA, IRS and ATF,.)
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To: SaxxonWoods

That won’t happen. They enjoy their power over people too much. If they did, so what. I do not depend on them to protect me.


32 posted on 06/01/2020 11:16:50 AM PDT by sport
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To: Spktyr

I know of a cop going back 40 years who was fired at least 3 times over a 15 year period for repeated excessive force. He was always bragging about beating guys down and stealing their drugs. As long as they were not convicted of a felony, there is ALWAYS another department willing to hire a cop with bad history.


33 posted on 06/01/2020 11:24:42 AM PDT by ETCM
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To: Cecily

How can police departments around the country improve?


1) Don’t hire people who can’t pass a mental stability test.
2) Rotate cops in and out of trouble areas, on a regular basis, so they don’t have to deal with dopers, dealers, pimps, and other lowlifes every single work day.
3) Retest for mental stability at least yearly.
4) Have custodians who do not do policing, clean out squad cars, after cops bring in suspects who have defecated in their cars (a frequent occurrence, often on purpose; sometimes out of fear or stress). Any idea how disgusting, discouraging, and demoralizing it is to have to clean out your car, after some scumbag you’ve had to deal with and arrest, deliberately craps all over the backseat? That should be a custodian’s job, NOT the arresting officer, but in a lot of places, it’s the cop who gets that job.

All of the above can make a cop’s job a lot easier, and help prevent burn out.


34 posted on 06/01/2020 11:33:39 AM PDT by Flaming Conservative ((Pray without ceasing))
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To: ETCM

Hence my idea of getting banned from policing for five years.


35 posted on 06/01/2020 11:34:27 AM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: precisionshootist

the entire idea of policing needs to be tossed, returned to decades long past and started over.


Crime and criminals, not to mention our whole society, has changed dramatically in decades. Policing can’t be done like it used to be, unless you live in Mayberry or Willoughby. I am pro-law enforcement, but cops who don’t follow the rules, need to be re-educated, if possible, or fired, if not. And BTW, suspects who “fell down the stairs on the way to the station”, is nothing new; there have always been cops who shouldn’t be cops. Those types need to be weeded out.


36 posted on 06/01/2020 11:45:00 AM PDT by Flaming Conservative ((Pray without ceasing))
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To: Cecily

“How can police departments around the country improve? I don’t know. Some ideas:”

Random drug tests. Particularly steroids. Random drug test should also apply to all government employees and elected officials above a certain level.


37 posted on 06/01/2020 11:48:38 AM PDT by alternatives? (Why have an army if there are no borders?)
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To: TheDandyMan
" AR15s are the most popular civilian MSP in America. Why shouldn’t police officers have access to them? Why should police officers dress like milkmen?"

You are seeing and living the results of why.

There is no civilian incident to date that could not be easily handled with civilian only weapons. Police should have Ruger Mini 14 rifles and 12 gauge pump shotguns. Most importantly they have radios that can call in virtually limitless numbers of more cops. AR15's are military weapons in civilian legal form. The police are NOT the military. Dress like a soldier, act like a soldier. Train like a Soldier, fight like a soldier. Cops are NOT soldiers.

Our country got along just fine for 200 years without SWAT teams. They are a menace to our free society and need to be gone. Ninety nine percent of the time SWAT teams are used as show of force. They show up after an event has taken place to show off their MILITARY full auto weapons, Battle Dress Uniforms and other military toys. There is no incident that cannot be handled by normal peace officers who dress and act as cops.

38 posted on 06/01/2020 12:07:44 PM PDT by precisionshootist
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To: precisionshootist
AR15's are military weapons in civilian legal form.

So, they should not have AR's, but can have a mini-14. Can you expand on the difference in ammunition, rate of fire, muzzle velocity, magazine capacity and reload time difference between these 2 popular platforms?

39 posted on 06/01/2020 12:13:06 PM PDT by redcatcherb412
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To: precisionshootist

“AR15’s are military weapons in civilian legal form.”

There is a lot of difference between automatic weapons (Military) and semi-automatic weapons (civilian).


40 posted on 06/01/2020 12:19:02 PM PDT by alternatives? (Why have an army if there are no borders?)
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