Atlanta, GA – The head of Atlanta’s police union confirmed Wednesday that officers from the Atlanta Police Department in Zones 3 and 6 walked off the job Wednesday afternoon.
Vince Champion, southeast regional director of the International Brotherhood of Police officers, said that police officers had stopped answering calls midshift, in response to charges against Officer Garrett Rolfe who is accused of murdering Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta.
“The union, we would never advocate this. We wouldn’t advocate a blue flu,” Champion said. “We don’t know the numbers. Apparently we’re learning that command staff are asking outlying counties for support and aren’t getting it.”
After mass walkouts among members of the Atlanta police department, the mayor began requesting assistance from mutual aid jurisdictions. Officers from these jurisdictions are refusing to respond to any call other than one for an officer down.
— Blue Flu Cernovich (@Cernovich) June 18, 2020
Decaturish has calls out to public affairs officers in Gwinnett, DeKalb and Cobb counties for confirmation.
Just got this email from an Atlanta police officer:
"Atlanta police officers are refusing to answer the radio and walking off of the job. The county can go screw themselves. If you want a society without police we’ll give you one. Let it burn!"
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) June 17, 2020
What started in Zone 6 quickly spread throughout the entire Atlanta PD as officers walked off their shifts. The #BlueFlu has started in Atlanta, but I have a feeling it's going to spread nationwide as the hate for the men & women who hold the Thin Blue Line continues to grow.
— Fmr. Sheriff Mark Curran, Dick Durbin's opponent (@ElectMarkCurran) June 18, 2020
Text from APD officer:
“I can confirm the walk-off is real. Whole shifts have left and overnight shifts are refusing to come in”
— Johnny (Joey) Jones (@Johnny_Joey) June 18, 2020
A spokesperson for APD called reports of a walkout “inaccurate.”
“Earlier suggestions that multiple officers from each zone had walked off the job were inaccurate,” the spokesperson said. “However, the department is experiencing a higher than usual number of call-outs with the incoming shift. We have enough resources to maintain operations and remain able to respond to incidents throughout the city.”
Zones 3 and 6 cover south Atlanta, where Rolfe killed Rayshard Brooks after a June 12 DUI arrest turned into an altercation. Rolfe fired three bullets at Brooks as he fled with a taser in hand. Video of the shooting suggests Brooks pointed the taser at officers as he fled.
A protest the next day descended into vandalism and the arson of the Wendy’s restaurant where the shooting occurred. Police and state fire officials have offered a reward for tips leading to the arrest and prosecution of the arsonists.
Champion accused Paul Howard, Fulton county’s district attorney, of lying about what is happening in a press conference earlier today when Howard suggested that officer Devin Brosnan had turned state’s evidence and is testifying.
“The attorney for the officer said that’s not true two minutes later, and said he’s not pleading guilty and not offering state’s evidence,” Champion said.
Other local media are seeing evidence of the walkout.
Atlanta INtown reports, “A drive around Zone 6 indicated there was not the usual APD presence. A Georgia State Patrol unit was handling a two-car accident at Boulevard and Edgewood Avenue around 9 p.m. The APD’s precinct at Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center appeared empty. Down in Grant Park, the Zone 3 precinct was populated by Fulton County Sheriff units.”
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Finally people who know how to fight back… and do. Good luck to all of these brave men and women.