Atlanta Cops Refuse to Respond to Calls After Officer Is Charged With Murder of Rayshard Brooks | Beaufort County Now | Given the lack of respect that is being shown to police officers all over the country, it's no wonder that they aren't showing up for work. | lifezette, atlanta cops, responding to calls, officer charged with murder, rayshard brooks, june 19, 2020

Publisher's note: This post appears here courtesy of the LifeZette, and written by Polizette Staff.

    Officers in the Atlanta Police Department are reportedly refusing to respond to calls in multiple zones after Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard charged Atlanta police Officer Garrett Rolfe with the felony murder of Rayshard Brooks.

    Daily Wire reported that Rolfe was charged with Brooks' murder despite the fact that the 27-year-old was driving drunk, resisted arrest, stole a cop's Taser and then fired it in Rolfe's direction before fleeing. In the wake of the charges being filed, the Atlanta Police Department has acknowledged that they are experiencing a higher than normal number of cops calling out prior to the start of their shifts.

    "Atlanta police officers are not responding to calls in three of the department's six zones," CNN reported. "Atlanta police officers each patrol one of six zones covering some 500,000 residents who live in the city limits. They also cover Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport."

    "I've been listening to Zone 6 Atlanta Police radio traffic for the last hour. There are 15 - 20 minute periods of absolute silence amid reports of officer walkouts. This clip was shared with [Cheryl Preheim] by a police source. It's from Zone 3. The code 69 is Person With a Gun," tweeted Brendan Keefe, chief investigator at Atlanta's WXIA 11Alive.

    The APD finally addressed the situation on Twitter on Wednesday night, writing, "Earlier suggestions that multiple officers from each zone had walked off the job were inaccurate. The department is experiencing a higher than usual number of call outs with the incoming shift. We have enough resources to maintain operations [and] remain able to respond to incidents."

    When asked about the police situation, Atlanta's Democratic Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said on Wednesday night that it "has been a very tough few weeks in Atlanta."

    "Across the country, morale is down with police departments, and I think ours is down ten-fold," Bottoms said. "And so what I would say is, in the same way our administration's made that commitment to our officers, we expect our officers will keep their commitment to our communities." She went on to say that while she is not sure exactly how many cops have called out, there will be enough officers on duty to keep the city safe. "But it's just my hope again that our officers will remember the commitment that they made when they held up their hand and they were sworn in as police officers," Bottoms concluded.

    Given the lack of respect that is being shown to police officers all over the country, it's no wonder that they aren't showing up for work. With anti-police sentiments higher than ever in the U.S., cops are putting their lives on the line more than usual when they work their shifts these days, yet this is not appreciated at all. Until we start showing our brave men and women in blue more respect and gratitude, we shouldn't be surprised when they refuse to show up for work.