Police oversight panel to study APD supervisors role in gay bar raid

[sgsmith]

(emphasis mine)

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/police-oversight-panel-to-610826.html

The Atlanta Citizen Review board determined 24 police officers falsely imprisoned patrons of a gay Midtown Atlanta bar but the board said more study was needed to determine if supervisors allowed alleged offensive language by police during a raid of the Atlanta Eagle.

The oversight committee decided, however, to delay its recommendations on punishing the officers until the CRB can sort out how much blame should be assigned to whom.

The board was revived in 2007 in response to the fatal police shooting of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston in a botched drug raid several months earlier. The CRB has become known for its fights to get officers and the police command staff to cooperate.

The board only has the authority to recommend punishment if the members find fault, and the police chief can either accept or reject those findings. Records show that APD Chief George Turner and his predecessor, Richard Pennington, agreed with the board’s findings when they were in favor of officers and rejected them when the panel found against officers.