Public Safety Briefs

Joel Baker has been named the Atlanta’s interim fire chief after the controversial dismissal of Kelvin Cochran. The termination came in January after a month-long suspension for anti-gay sentiments expressed in a book. Cochran self-published the religious-themed book in 2013 called Who Told You That You Were Naked? where he called homosexuality a “sexual perversion” and compared it to bestiality and pederasty. Reed said he would not tolerate discrimination of any kind in his administration and described what he had read in Cochran’s book as “disturbing sentiments about the LGBT community.” Cochran has filed a federal discrimination complaint contending he faced religious discrimination.

The Atlanta Police Department has named Officer C.J. Murphy as the newest LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender) liaison to serve the citizens of Atlanta. Officer Murphy will join Officer Eric King as one of two LGBT liaisons for the department. She replaces Senior Police Officer Brian Sharp, who is moving on to serve in Zone 5. “I’m looking forward to this new opportunity to serve the LGBT community in the City of Atlanta as well as within APD,” said Officer Murphy. “It is important that our department reflect the demographics of our city, so as a member of the gay community, I take pride in continuing the strong legacy of cooperation between LGBT citizens and the APD.”

The Atlanta Police Department is dismantling the DUI task force and reassigning the officers. Atlanta police said they are not shutting down the DUI Task Force because of budgetary reasons, but they could be making the change because of a decrease in DUI’s lately. Figures show that DUI arrests were down last year to 602, their lowest number in three years.

The Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety has provided a $67,000 grant to nonprofit Pedestrians Educating Drivers on Safety. PEDS will use the funds to increase compliance with speed limits and crosswalk laws; increase awareness of policies and practices that promote pedestrian safety; promote increased installation of sidewalks and safe crossings; provide technical assistance to government agencies, nonprofit organizations and others to identify pedestrian needs and solutions; and partner with state and regional transportation partners to implement pedestrian safety strategies

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