Atlanta police officials want to improve active shooter response
Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Prenzinna Spann: “We want to be experts in this field should it ever have to occur again.”
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Amid praise from Atlanta City Council members on Monday, Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Prenzinna Spann said the department still has “minor” work to do on its active shooter response.
The department’s monthly briefing to the council’s Public Safety Committee took on new significance in light of last week’s deadly shooting at a Northside Medical building in the city’s Midtown area that left one dead and four hurt.
“We know that although we did a phenomenal job, we still have some minor work to do and of course, we want to be experts in this field should it ever have to occur again,” said Spann.
Spann noted the web of communication that began to build after the initial call came in around 12:08 p.m. last Wednesday. Officers and deputies from the Atlanta Police Department, Fulton County Sheriff, Fulton County Marshals, Georgia State University and Georgia Tech, and even MARTA police responded to the call among others.
“It was important that we got those intricate details of everything that we needed to know while on the street, and our officers did a phenomenal job,” said Spann, listing each responding agency by name. “And if they weren’t out there, they called and asked us how they could assist.”
Spann said there’s still some work to do on communication and coordination with non-law-enforcement agencies like Atlanta Fire, who also responded and whose personnel were right beside police officers as they entered the building.
“With the new public safety training center coming, it will be a great opportunity for us to be able to train with fire, and that’s something we’ve never had the opportunity to do before,” said Spann.
The public safety training facility, which opponents often refer to as “Cop City,” took center stage at Monday’s meeting when council member Antonio Lewis pressed Spann on the APD officers who were kept guarding the site instead of responding to the active shooter call.
Atlanta police officials could not say how many officers, if any, were pulled away from the site to respond to Wednesday’s call at Northside Medical Midtown.
“To understand that we have people in fear of their life, city council members in fear of their life, I hope that if we had an all-cavalry call, it’s city-wide,” said Lewis. “While you’re working under our taxpayer dollars, we need you for that all-cavalry call downtown Atlanta. We’re afraid for our lives.”
Also during Monday’s meeting, council members voted unanimously to request the Atlanta Police Foundation – which is paying most of the $90 million price tag attached to the public safety training site – provide quarterly updates to the council. As of now, APD does the bulk share of providing updates on the project.
Northside Medical Midtown is home to a major medical center and urgent care facility. It also houses the Laureate Medical Group, where as many as 23 doctors and nurse practitioners are employed.
Council members also unanimously approved a resolution that would allow the mayor’s office greater flexibility in coordinating future emergency responses between Atlanta’s first responders, and the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.
Spann said APD will field internal and external reviews of their shooting response this week. She also said officers who responded to the traumatic event last week will not be rushed back to work.
“We want to make sure that we at least check on them to make sure that they don’t need that time off, or that time to decompress, or even if they need to see or have additional counseling sessions,” said Spann.
The Midtown mass shooting marked the 10th mass shooting in Georgia in 2023, according to the National Gun Violence Archive. It is the 190th in the United States, officials say.
FULL COVERAGE OF THE MIDTOWN ATLANTA MASS SHOOTING:
- ‘None of us are safe’ | America reacts to Atlanta’s latest mass shooting
- What we know about the 5 victims of Midtown medical building shooting
- Witnesses speak on deadly Midtown Atlanta shooting
- Who is Deion Patterson, the suspect in midtown Atlanta’s mass shooting?
- Site of Atlanta’s latest mass shooting is a major Midtown medical facility
- Northside Medical Midtown closed Thursday, officials say
- Here is what we know about the deadly Midtown Atlanta shooting.
- Midtown mass shooting suspect in custody, fatality identified
- Family of woman killed in Midtown Atlanta shooting releases statement
- Northside Medical Midtown working to reopen as hospital navigates deadly shooting
- Northside Hospital calls for ‘A Day of Reflection’ on May 5 in wake of shooting
FULL COVERAGE OF THE ATLANTA PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING FACILITY:
- Atlanta mayor establishes Public Safety Training Center Community Task Force
- 8 defendants denied bond for public safety training center protest
- Protesters march to Police Foundation rallying against public safety training center
- Atlanta police say officers at training center were lawfully deputized
- EXCLUSIVE: GA Attorney General on what’s next for ‘Cop City’
- 23 face judge following protests at Atlanta Public Safety Training site
- Gov. Kemp calls violence at police training center ‘outrageous’
- Protest erupts after 23 arrested at site of the future Atlanta Training Facility
- Faith leaders speak out against Atlanta public safety training center
- Question of jurisdiction at planned training site raised at city council meeting
- DeKalb County Sheriff responds to protests at DeKalb County Jail
- Trooper hospitalized, one person dead after shooting at future site of police training facility
- 30 officers ‘permanently’ set to guard Atlanta police training facility
- A timeline of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center
- Five arrested for domestic terrorism at ‘Cop City’ held without bond
- Atlanta PD releases names of protesters arrested, video of Molotov cocktail fire
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