Atlanta’s police department said Thursday that it can still police the city even if officers are calling in sick to protest efforts to impose reforms. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms also insisted that the police department would be able to operate effectively despite the reaction of some officers to her administrative orders calling for reforms to use of force policies and a comprehensive review of policing in Atlanta. As Rayshard Brooks lay dying in a Wendy’s parking lot, prosecutors say the Atlanta police officer who shot him in the back kicked him and didn’t give him medical attention for more than two minutes.
