Suzanimal
05-27-2015, 08:40 AM
ATLANTA (CBS46) - A new policy for police shootings is taking a toll on investigators with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The agency is now requesting more funding to handle an uptick in cases where officers have fired their weapons on suspects.
The GBI is investigating eight cases involving police officer shootings in metro Atlanta this year. Most of them remain open and now the agency is facing somewhat of a backlog.
One of those cases involved Smyrna police. In March, an officer with the department shot and killed 19-year-old Nicholas Thomas while trying to arrest him at his job. They said the unarmed teen charged at them from behind the wheel of a Maserati. When controversy over the case grew, the investigation was turned over to GBI, which is something that's become common practice now across Georgia.
GBI spokesperson Sherry Lang said, “These cases are a priority for us. So whenever they happen, we shift our resources to work these cases to make sure they get worked as expeditiously, but also as thoroughly as possible.”
Now GBI is getting overwhelmed with requests and they need more hands to help out. So the agency is asking the state for more funding.
“We need to hire more people so that we can not only handle these cases, but also work the other cases that we have to stop working when we work these,” says Lang.
Several departments, like DeKalb and Gwinnett counties, have created new policies for all use-of-force cases that result in serious injury, death, or controversy.
Advocates say it leads to more transparency, but other call it unnecessary.
“It's not just a waste of resources, it's also going to lead to a bigger problem. What people want in these cases are very quick answers. They also want a thorough investigation,” says Attorney Lance LoRusso, whose clients have included several police officers accused of excessive force.
LoRusso says having GBI take over such cases doesn't affect the outcome, but is only needed when police departments don't have adequate resources.
“If you look at who called the GBI in the past, it was smaller agencies that needed to use the GBI's crime lab anyway,” explains LoRusso.
Yet with so many officer shootings making headlines, thanks in part to cell phone video, suspects' families and the public are demanding more scrutiny than ever before.
GBI officials won't say how much additional money or new agents they'll need just yet. They're still working on that request for the state. In the meantime, they are conducting refresher training for all agents handling these cases and they've been shifting around field agents from regional offices to help out.
Read more: http://www.cbs46.com/story/29159726/gbi-requests-more-funding-to-investigate-police-officer-shootings#ixzz3bLl5naty
The GBI is investigating eight cases involving police officer shootings in metro Atlanta this year. Most of them remain open and now the agency is facing somewhat of a backlog.
One of those cases involved Smyrna police. In March, an officer with the department shot and killed 19-year-old Nicholas Thomas while trying to arrest him at his job. They said the unarmed teen charged at them from behind the wheel of a Maserati. When controversy over the case grew, the investigation was turned over to GBI, which is something that's become common practice now across Georgia.
GBI spokesperson Sherry Lang said, “These cases are a priority for us. So whenever they happen, we shift our resources to work these cases to make sure they get worked as expeditiously, but also as thoroughly as possible.”
Now GBI is getting overwhelmed with requests and they need more hands to help out. So the agency is asking the state for more funding.
“We need to hire more people so that we can not only handle these cases, but also work the other cases that we have to stop working when we work these,” says Lang.
Several departments, like DeKalb and Gwinnett counties, have created new policies for all use-of-force cases that result in serious injury, death, or controversy.
Advocates say it leads to more transparency, but other call it unnecessary.
“It's not just a waste of resources, it's also going to lead to a bigger problem. What people want in these cases are very quick answers. They also want a thorough investigation,” says Attorney Lance LoRusso, whose clients have included several police officers accused of excessive force.
LoRusso says having GBI take over such cases doesn't affect the outcome, but is only needed when police departments don't have adequate resources.
“If you look at who called the GBI in the past, it was smaller agencies that needed to use the GBI's crime lab anyway,” explains LoRusso.
Yet with so many officer shootings making headlines, thanks in part to cell phone video, suspects' families and the public are demanding more scrutiny than ever before.
GBI officials won't say how much additional money or new agents they'll need just yet. They're still working on that request for the state. In the meantime, they are conducting refresher training for all agents handling these cases and they've been shifting around field agents from regional offices to help out.
Read more: http://www.cbs46.com/story/29159726/gbi-requests-more-funding-to-investigate-police-officer-shootings#ixzz3bLl5naty