A Georgia State Patrol chase that ended in a crash that killed a 19-year-old bystander in Atlanta last week thrust the state’s top police agency into the middle of a public debate about whether its aggressive tactics were causing unnecessary harm to Georgians.
Opinions on the appropriateness of the pursuit that killed Cooper Schoenke, and of police chases in general, divided along party lines. The two sides seemed split on whether the patrol and other law enforcement professionals should bear any responsibility for the injuries and deaths to bystanders caused during police pursuits.
State Rep. Sandra Scott, D-Rex, said she and two other state representatives were having dinner in Little Five Points at the nearby Hudson Grille when the pursuit that had started on I-20 ended in a violent crash less than 100 yards away. As they dined, Scott, Viola Davis, D-Stone Mountain, and Kim Schofield, D-Atlanta, heard the sound of the fleeing vehicle and police car speeding down Moreland Avenue.
“And the next thing we heard was a loud ‘boom,’ almost like a tank had gone off,” Scott said. “And we all ran out of the restaurant to see.”
A couple of days after the fatal crash, the three representatives, along with other local political leaders and advocates, held a news conference calling for changes to the Georgia State Patrol’s pursuit policy.
The thrust of their argument echoed what policy experts have said across the country: Oftentimes it’s safer for the public if police don’t pursue, especially when they are chasing someone over a nonviolent crime.
“We just feel that innocent people should not be killed and that at some point, police officers should call off these police chases so that innocent people will not die,” said State Sen. Gail Davenport, D-Jonesboro, who has introduced legislation in the past to try to limit police pursuits across the state.
On the other side of the debate sit many Republicans, including Gov. Brian Kemp, whose office issued a written statement last week blasting those seeking to blame police agencies for the harm caused by pursuits. It was Kemp’s office’s first public comments about the patrol’s pursuit practices since The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published its recent investigation of the state patrol’s aggressive tactics.
“It is heartbreaking to see such a young life taken at the hands of a criminal seeking to evade justice,” Kemp spokesman Garrison Douglas said.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, also defended the patrol and their training standards.
“I think their record and history speaks to my point here,” Burns said. “Our men and women who wear the blue and gray are some of the finest people — certainly the finest people in law enforcement, best trained law enforcement folks in this country.”
Burns did not specify if the Legislature will take steps to review policies to prevent injuries to bystanders who are not directly involved with police pursuits, but said it will look at stiffer penalties for people who flee.
“Maybe that will help dissuade some of these folks that have criminal intent from running and endangering the innocent folks on the road when the law enforcement, Georgia State Patrol, tries to do its job,” he said.
The agency was involved in more than 6,700 pursuits over a five-year period ending in 2023, according to the AJC’s analysis. About 3,400 of those chases ended in crashes, with bystanders or passengers often the ones who suffered injuries or death.
Credit: John Spink & Channel 2 Action News
Credit: John Spink & Channel 2 Action News
Some at last week’s news conference were critical of the governor for what they said was his office’s efforts to cloud the debate about police pursuits and avoid sensible policy discussions that could save lives. Atlanta City Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari said the governor’s office’s comments were trying to create a “story about cops versus the left.”
On Monday, Bakhtiari spoke at the Atlanta City Council meeting and publicly asked for prayers for Schoenke’s family. She said there have been several GSP chases through her district and other areas, and she wants them to stop.
“I will be making asks that we never see chases like this through our city again because the people in our community and their lives are not disposable,” she said.
Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King, a former police chief, was critical of those trying blame the state patrol for last week’s death in Little Five Points. Still, he seemed open to the idea that the agency’s policy should include more supervisory oversight during police chases. Currently, the patrol has one of the least restrictive pursuit policies among state police agencies in the country, with most decisions left up to individual troopers.
“These policies, they’re not set in stone,” King said. “They have to reflect the reality of what’s going on.”
He added that after an incident like the one that led to Schoenke’s death, “Everybody automatically holds the police officer responsible.”
“At the end of the day, we also have to put the responsibility on the individual who deliberately decided to flee the police and actually kill somebody,” he said.
In an emailed statement last week, GSP said its policy is “grounded in law, shaped by training and guided by a clear standard that actions be objectively reasonable.” It added that troopers do not initiate pursuits; the fleeing driver initiates the pursuit by failing to stop.
“Compliance with lawful instructions is the single act that would prevent nearly all pursuits and use-of-force encounters,” the statement said. “When people choose not to comply, they not only put themselves in danger, but they also put others at risk.”
--AJC reporter Reed Williams contributed reporting to this story.
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