The Atlanta Police Department (APD) is a law enforcement agency in the city of
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
The city shifted from its rural-based Marshal and Deputy Marshal model at the end of the 19th century. In 1873, the department was formed with 26 officers. Thomas Jones was elected the first
Atlanta Chief of Police by the city council. The agency is located at: 226 Peachtree St SW,
Atlanta, Ga. 30303.
The APD is currently being led by Police Chief Darin Schierbaum. The department claims an authorized strength of 1,661 sworn officers.
Ranks and insignia
Corrections
The Atlanta Police Department works with the City of Atlanta Corrections Department, which operates three jails, all of which also handle overflow from time to time from the large
jail on Rice street, operated by
Fulton County:
Demographics
Breakdown of the makeup of the rank and file of APD as of 2013:
*Male: 82%
*Female: 18%
*African American/Black: 58%
*Caucasian/ White: 37%
*Hispanic: 4%
*Asian: 1%
Controversies
A federal investigation was conducted into the Atlanta Police Department's practices after the 2006 killing of 92-year-old
Kathryn Johnston, who shot at officers as they entered her home unannounced on a
no-knock warrant
In the United States, a no-knock warrant is a warrant issued by a judge that allows law enforcement to enter a property without immediate prior notification of the residents, such as by knocking or ringing a doorbell. In most cases, law enforcemen ...
. Prosecutors alleged that the officers falsified information and documents after the killing to justify the serving of the warrant. On April 26, 2007, two officers pleaded guilty to
manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
, violation of oath,
criminal solicitation, and
making false statements
Making false statements () is the common name for the United States federal process crime laid out in Section 1001 of Title 18 of the United States Code, which generally prohibits knowingly and willfully making false or fraudulent statements, or ...
. One additionally pleaded guilty to
perjury
Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an insta ...
.
On July 8, 2011, it was reported in ''
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...
'' that six police officers were fired for lying about events concerning the
Atlanta Eagle police raid
The Atlanta Eagle police raid was a police raid targeting the Atlanta Eagle, a gay bar in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The raid occurred on September 10, 2009, due to anonymous tips alleging that illegal drug use and ...
(which targeted the Atlanta Eagle, a
gay bar
A gay bar is a Bar (establishment), drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBTQ+ communi ...
). In June 2011, a 343-page report was released that details how 16 officers lied or destroyed evidence when asked about the raid on the Eagle Bar. At least two of the officers in question had been cited for lying on another occasion in a federal drug case in October 2009 (the federal prosecutors informed the Atlanta Police Department that they would never be used again in a federal prosecution).
On April 8, 2011, APD officers shot a 64-year-old U.S. Marine veteran who had fired several shots at the ground in front of a man who was stealing from him, which was a frequent occurrence.
He lost his kidney, and while he was eventually released from prison in early November after prosecutors finally dropped charges—after threatening him with 105 years in prison
—his home and that of his deceased father had been looted and burnt by criminals who stole almost all his personal and business possessions.
APD officers claimed Sturdivant pointed his rifle at the officers, who never identified themselves, a point disputed by Sturdivant's public defender given that the one bullet of the 14 officers fired that actually hit him, traveled through the side of the rifle's stock.
On May 30, 2020, during the
George Floyd protests in Georgia
A series of George Floyd protests took place in Georgia, United States, following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. 11 consecutive days of protests and rallies occurred in Atlanta through June 8, 2020. Through July 2020, protests occurred in ...
, Atlanta police pulled two black students from their car, broke a car window, and used Tasers to shock them. This came after officers arrested a classmate of theirs whom they wanted to pick up; an officer ordered the students to continue driving, which they complied. One officer claimed that one of the students possessed a gun, but no gun was found. One of the students stated that he was punched over 10 times in the back after being arrested. Within days, six officers were charged as a result of the incident; two were fired, and four were put on administrative leave. The Fulton County District Attorney, Paul Howard, stated that the two college students were "innocent almost to the point of being naive".
On June 12, 2020, APD officers were called to a Wendy's, where the suspect,
Rayshard Brooks, was sleeping inside of a car with its engine on in the drive-thru lane of the establishment. Officers conducted a field-sobriety test on Brooks, which he failed, leading officers to attempt to put him in custody. According to the
GBI, Brooks resisted and got into a physical struggle with an officer, which led to Brooks grabbing a taser from the officer. Once Brooks got a hold of the taser, he began to flee. Surveillance footage shows Brooks fleeing about seven parking spaces in the parking lot. Brooks then turned around and fired the taser at the officer chasing him. That led to the officer retrieving and discharging his service weapon, firing three times at Brooks, striking him two times in the back. Brooks was taken to a local hospital, where he died after emergency surgery.
On January 18, 2023, Atlanta police officers shot and killed Manuel Teran, who was protesting the deforestation of 300 acres of public park in Atlanta to build a $90-million police training facility; critics have called the project "
Cop City
The Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, commonly known as Cop City, is a police and fire department training campus in DeKalb County near Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Much of the land included in the plans was formerly part of the Old At ...
" and claim it will be used to practice
urban warfare
Urban warfare is warfare in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both Military operation, operational and the Military tactics, tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the p ...
.
Equipment used by the Atlanta Police Department

Vehicles: Ford Police Interceptor equipped with state-of-the-art Whelen LED Lighting packages and digital control consoles along with Panasonic Toughbook Mobile Data Terminals. In fall 2013, the Atlanta Police Department began phasing new Ford Taurus Police interceptors into its fleet to replace the old Crown Victoria interceptors. The entire fleet totals around 300 vehicles and the remaining Crown Victoria interceptors will be phased out as they lose usefulness.
Communications: Motorola Digital 800 MHz Trunking system that is one of the largest in the country and utilizes 24 channels. This system provides voice and data communications for the Atlanta Police, Fire, Watershed, Corrections and other Municipal Departments. The Atlanta Police Radio System also provides voice and data communications for the Georgia State Patrol inside of the Atlanta Metropolitan area and the City of Hapeville, The City of East Point, and the City of College Park.
Weapons: The department has transitioned to a 9mm handgun, the Glock 17 Gen 4, phasing out the .40 S&W Glock 22. The reason for this was modern 9x19mm bullet effectiveness and the fact 9mm puts less wear on the gun's components due to lower pressures compared to .40 S&W. The APD has standardized Winchester PDX1 147 grain 9mm ammunition.
The APD also trains and issues the
AR-15 to many of its patrol officers to aid in tactical situations where a pistol and shotgun are out matched.
Police patrol zones of Atlanta

In the City of
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, there are six "patrol zones" (more commonly known as just "zones") which lie under the jurisdiction of the Field Operations Division of the Atlanta Police Department.
Zones and constituent neighborhoods
Zone 1 covers the city's northwest side, west of
Downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The largest of the city's three commercial districts (Midtown Atlanta, Midtown and Buckhead being the others), it is the location of many corporate and region ...
and north of
I-20 I20, I 20 or I-20 may refer to:
* Interstate 20, a highway in the southeastern United States
* I-20 (form), a United States government document that provides supporting information for the issuance of a student visa or change of status
* I-20 (rap ...
. Zone 2 covers all of the city's northern area. The Zone 3 area is located on the south/southeast and parts of southwest side of the city. The Zone 4 area is located on the
southwest side of Atlanta. Zone 5 encompasses the central portion of APD's jurisdiction. Zone 6 includes all but the northernmost part of Atlanta's Eastside.
See also
*
Atlanta Police Foundation
*
Atlanta Public Safety Training Center
*
Atlanta Chief of Police
*
''Containment'' (TV series), Zone 6 is placed under cordon sanitaire to prevent the spread of a deadly, highly contagious, bioengineered virus
*
List of law enforcement agencies in Georgia
References
External links
Atlanta Police Department
{{Authority control
Government agencies established in 1873
1873 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)