A fatal crash in Atlanta's Little Five Points neighborhood stemming from the pursuit of a vehicle by a Georgia State Patrol trooper has reignited conversations about the agency's chase policy.

Why it matters: While the Atlanta Police Department has some guardrails on its own chase policy, the state patrol has a broader protocol that allows sworn troopers to make a "reasonable determination" on whether to start or end a chase.

Driving the news: 19-year-old Cooper Schoenke, a DeKalb County resident, was killed Monday when a car being pursued by a state trooper collided with his vehicle on Moreland Avenue, the Georgia State Patrol told Axios in a statement.

Catch up quick: The chase began just before 8pm on I-20 East when the trooper, who the agency has not named, attempted to pull over a Chevrolet Equinox that was speeding and making "erratic and reckless" lane changes, the state patrol said.

• The driver, 23-year-old Faduma Mohamed of Stone Mountain, fled and exited the interstate at the Moreland Avenue interchange.
• The chase continued north up Moreland, ending when Mohamed struck Schoenke's Honda Accord at the McLendon Avenue intersection, the agency said. Schoenke was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
• Mohamed was charged with murder, vehicular homicide in the first degree and other traffic and drug offenses.

What they're saying: Residents have "repeatedly seen in Atlanta how high speed chases by Georgia State Patrol result in the death of innocent bystanders," Lauren Welsh, executive director of the Little 5 Points Alliance, told Axios in a statement.

Friction point: The state patrol's pursuit practices have come under scrutiny over the years and were the subject of an AJC investigation published last year.

• According to the AJC, state troopers were involved in more than 6,700 vehicle pursuits between 2019 and 2023, and more than half ended in crashes that caused injuries and deaths.
• More than 1,900 people were injured in crashes involving GSP chases and 63 killed during that time.

Read more

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) met with Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday as the GOP lobbies the Georgia Republican to run for Senate in 2026.

Why it matters: Georgia is a top pickup opportunity for Senate Republicans, and the popular Kemp is seen as the party's strongest potential candidate.

• Thune was joined at Monday's lunch in Atlanta by NRSC Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.), according to two people familiar with the meeting.

The intrigue: Kemp has a complicated relationship with President Trump, who attacked the governor for not overturning his 2020 election defeat in Georgia.

• But the Trump-Kemp relationship appears to be on the mend. The two appeared side-by-side during the 2024 election, and Kemp invited Trump to appear at a recent Republican Governors Association meeting.

Share this story

R. Thomas Deluxe Grill, Atlanta's late-night beacon of healthy food, fresh-squeezed juices and tropical birds, could be yours for the right price.

Why it matters: Though healthier options are easier to find today, R. Thomas remains an outlier where the menu — R's Meatless Meatloaf! — is just as colorful as its surfer shack decor of beaded curtains, rattan and bright colors.

• For generations of metro Atlantans, the quirky Buckhead spot has been a refuge from chains and a yin to the Waffle House's yang after a night out partying.

Driving the news: Owner Linay Sheltra, the daughter of Richard Thomas, the former fast food entrepreneur who opened the Bay Area-inspired restaurant in 1985, told the AJC she's looking for another health-minded individual to take over.

What they're saying: "We're going to be vetting people a little bit more, maybe deeper than we normally do," Atlanta entrepreneur Cliff Oxford, who's helping Sheltra sell the restaurant, told the AJC, the first to report the news.

What we're watching: Sheltra and Oxford said the restaurant has franchise potential. She is also entertaining offers from interested investors in the business.

Tell a friend

🎓 Cornel West will serve as this year's Morehouse College keynote commencement speaker. (Morehouse)

📺 Atlanta's public-access TV channel is back on the air after a year of limbo. (AJC)

👋 Brian Hill, the executive director of the Dogwood Festival, is stepping down after leading the classic Atlanta event for 17 years. (Saporta Report)

At least six protesters were removed from U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's town hall in Cobb County last night. Two protesters were tased by Acworth police officers and three were charged in connection with the incidents. (AJC)

• Greene praised the officers' response. (AP)

⚖️ In a new lawsuit, five international students and two recent graduates from Georgia colleges say Trump immigration officials illegally terminated their records and violated their Fifth Amendment rights. (Georgia Recorder)