"Excessive force costs Hartsfield officer his job"

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Excessive force costs airport officer his job
By ERNIE SUGGS, RHONDA COOK 
The Atlanta (GA) Journal Constitution


The Atlanta police officer caught on videotape throwing a woman to the
ground outside Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has been fired.

In a tersely written statement handed out Tuesday, police Chief Richard
Pennington confirmed that Officer Terrence Alexander was dismissed,
effective Monday.
  
An internal investigation found Alexander had used unnecessary force after
ordering Diana Dietrich-Barnes of Stockbridge to move her car Nov. 2 from in
front of the airport.

After Alexander ordered Dietrich-Barnes, who was at the airport to pick up
her mother, to move her car, the woman's side mirror hit the officer.

A video camera recorded the officer dragging Dietrich-Barnes from her car,
picking her up and slamming her to the ground before handcuffing her.
Alexander's supervisors dropped the charges against Dietrich-Barnes after
reviewing the video.

Investigators recommended Alexander be fired. The officer, who had been on
medical leave with pay, was suspended without pay pending a final decision
by Pennington.

"The Atlanta Police Department actively promotes and encourages respect for
all citizens and officers alike," Pennington said in a statement.

"Our officers' conduct with the public will be civil and professional at all
times and should foster mutual respect and cooperation. Residents are
partners with the police and that relationship is important in the public
safety of the entire city."

Pennington added that Alexander, who couldn't be reached for comment, has
the right to appeal the department's decision with the city's civil service
board.

In the wake of the Alexander incident, Pennington ordered police officers
assigned to the airport to participate in a special training program aimed
at getting them through tense situations.

The training is aimed at improving relations between officers and travelers,
some of whom break the ban on parking at curbs outside the terminal.

Steve Lister, the attorney for Dietrich-Barnes, said Alexander's firing was
a good first step on the city's behalf.

"This is not the end of the situation," Lister said. "We still have some
unresolved issues that we are working on. We have been in talks with Atlanta
to reach a conclusion to the unresolved issues."

Lister would not say what those issues were and would not confirm if a
lawsuit was in the works.

He said that Dietrich-Barnes is to have surgery on her injured arm and
continues to suffer from emotional duress.

"She's got two teen daughters, and every time this thing comes up someone is
asking her about it," Lister said. "And there is a fear that she now faces
whenever she sees a uniformed officer."


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


*****************************************