City court dismissed 14,500 cases because officers didn’t show | www.myajc.com

Atlanta Municipal Court judges have dismissed at least 14,500 cases since 2007 because officers failed to show up in court, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation has found.

One man, an accused ticket scalper, walked free on at least seven separate cases because no officer was in court to testify against him. And a city motorcycle officer missed court more than a hundred times, although records indicate that he wasn’t subpoenaed for all those cases.

It’s impossible to tell where the fault lies for the thousands of dismissals: with the police, for failing to show; with the city solicitor’s office, for failing to notify the officers about court dates; or with the court itself, for not consistently notifying the police department when officers didn’t appear.

The newspaper found evidence that all three — the police, the prosecutors and the court — contributed to the problem.

What is clear is that the 14,500 dismissed cases could have generated close to $2 million in fines for the city.

“The number of cases being dismissed due to (officers’ failure to appear) is unacceptable, and we must all work together to find a solution so that proper justice can be served,” Atlanta Police Chief George Turner said in a statement. “I expect officers to appear in court, regardless of the case, when they are subpoenaed … I can assure you I do not take this issue lightly.”

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