Advocates and Atlanta City Council urge the Georgia State Patrol to change its pursuit policies

Credit: Georgia Department of Public Safety / Facebook

Atlanta City Council is calling for more strict guidelines around Georgia State Patrol’s high-speed chases within the city.

The recommended changes include restricting chases to instances of violent felonies, requiring supervisor approval, and banning PIT maneuvers in densely populated areas. According to reporting from the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Georgia State Patrol engaged in over 6,700 chases from 2019 to 2023.

• RELATED: AJC report highlights the dangers of Georgia State Patrol's pursuit policy

Kate Schoenke spoke at the meeting about her son Cooper, a bystander who was killed in a state patrol chase in April.

“It could have been a family going to Target,” she said. “At 80 miles an hour down that road, heavily populated. It’s just — it’s not the first time this has happened I’d love it to be the last.”

• RELATED: Georgia officials call for end of high-speed chases after uninvolved driver killed

Devin Barrington Ward is with the National Police Accountability Project. He said it’s important local and state legislators know this isn’t a partisan issue — it’s a public safety issue.

“Morland Avenue may be a state route, but it drives through a community that you all are responsible for,” he said. “Ensuring that people there are not seen as casualties or seen as collateral damage in the midst of law enforcement attempting to apprehend someone.”

The council has called on the Atlanta police chief to return within 60 days to report on policy changes the city department makes for working with GSP.