Atlanta Police Consider Stopping Midtown Patrols

A proposal within the Atlanta Police Department could change the mission of the officers at the Zone 5 .

According to an email from Zone 5 Commander Major Khirus Williams that was circulated around the neighborhood Wednesday morning, a proposal is on the table to convert officers of the Midtown Mini Precinct to beat officers who only respond to 911 calls.

The precinct is located at 550 Peachtree Street, adjacent to .

One officer would serve each of Beats 502, 503, 504, and 505. Williams called the proposal "counterproductive" in the email. 

Dist. 2 Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall, who represents a large portion of Midtown, said he was not in favor of the proposal.

"That doesn't make sense," Hall said Wednesday. "We still need patrols in and out of that neighborhood."

The officers currently do police patrols around Midtown and surrounding areas, as well as man fixed posts in places such as Piedmont Park and the Peachtree-Pine Homeless Shelter. The precinct has a fleet of bicycles, segways and motorcycles for patrol officers. 

"Thus, motorcycle, segways, foot beat, bicycle, and Piedmont Park patrols would be efforts of the past," Williams said in the email. He asked people to contact Police Chief George Turner to express their concerns about the proposal. 

"I agree with Major Williams, we need the police on motorcycles, segways, bicycles and on foot on our streets, as well as the fixed patrol at critical places like Peachtree Pine and Piedmont Park," said Peggy Denby, president of the Midtown Ponce Security Alliance. "This is especially important in  light of .  I think it would be a huge mistake to change our coverage at this time."

Carlos Campos, public information officer for the Atlanta Police Department, said no decisions have been made regarding changes at the Midtown Mini Precinct. 

"We're having some internal discussions about how to best utilize our resources in Zone 5," Campos said Wednesday afternoon in a phone interview. "I don't think we are ready right now to discuss this." 

Campos said the department is "always interested in getting feedback from the community."