Reed Picks Interim Police Chief

By Odette Yousef

Atlanta, GA – A 28-year veteran of the Atlanta Police Department is mayor-elect Kasim Reed's choice to lead the force until a permanent chief is selected. Reed announced today that Deputy Chief George Turner will take office on January 4th, the day that current Chief Richard Pennington steps down.

WABE's Odette Yousef reports.

Reed wants to select a permanent police chief within four months of Turner taking office.

APD veteran Lou Arcangeli says whoever gets the job has a slew of issues to address, such as:

ARCANGELI: examining a police department that's been engaged in what many citizens have found to be underreporting of crime.

But Turner says crime statistics simply don't support that notion:

TURNER: Overall crime is down, and what we have to do is continue to be out front, talk about issues as they are, and be up-front and be transparent about what we are doing.

Turner currently oversees several operations, including the beleaguered 911 communications system, which has been criticized for failing to handle emergency calls in a timely fashion.

Reed says Turner will be considered for the permanent job as chief.

Odette Yousef, WABE News.