Two Atlanta police officers purchase English Avenue homes through the Secure Neighborhoods program
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The homes are part of the Secure Neighborhoods program of the Atlanta Police Foundation. Photo: Kristal Dixon/Axios
Two Atlanta officers will soon call the English Avenue neighborhood home.
Why it matters: The officers will live in the community as part of the Atlanta Police Foundation's Secure Neighborhoods program, which gives cops an opportunity to live in the same city where they work.
What they're saying: Mayor Andre Dickens said Wednesday during a ribbon cutting on the two homes that Atlanta received a $500,000 grant to build the houses, as well as accessory dwelling units that can be used to house police recruits for the next five years.
- "It's important for our police recruits to become familiar with the communities that they serve in," he said, adding "residents will feel empowered that they've got officers and recruits living in their neighborhood keeping them safe."
How it works: The foundation's program allows officers to purchase homes at a lower cost in certain neighborhoods.
- The foundation's website notes that since the program began in 2016, 31 officers have bought homes, another two have rented houses and an additional 14 homes are under construction.
Context: The homes at 396 and 400 Lindsay Street NW are just feet from Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park.
- In 2006, 92-year-old Johnston was shot and killed by Atlanta police officers who illegally raided her home after receiving a tip that drugs were inside.
- No drugs were found, and officers had planted in Johnston's home drugs that had been seized during another raid.
- Several officers pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the raid and Johnston's death, and the city settled with her family for $4.9 million, the AJC reported in 2010.
The big picture: Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said that has "weighed heavily on this police department since then, and has broken the trust in many communities."
- Moving police officers into the city and making them part of the neighborhoods they protect is one way to rebuild that trust, the chief said.
- "And if we are protecting you, we must be respecting you."
Officer Jonathan Pettaway, who has been with the department since 2008, is one of two officers who will be moving into the neighborhood. Pettaway told Axios that he's looking forward to ditching his daily commute to and from Douglasville each day.
- He also said the program helps officers afford to live in a city where their salaries haven't kept pace with home prices.
- "It puts more money back into our pocket and more time for us to reinvest into the community," he said.