By John Schaffner
editor@reporternewspapers.net
Interim Atlanta Police Chief George N. Turner told a group of neighborhood representatives March 17 that he supports Mayor Kasim Reed’s national search for the person who will become the new permanent chief.
“I want the mayor to feel confident that I am the right one to be chief,” said Turner, a native Atlantan who is in his 29th year with the Atlanta Police Department.
He told members of the Northwest Community Alliance, which includes neighborhoods in the southwest corner of Buckhead, that he was asked by Reed to take on the role of interim chief while the votes still were being counted after the runoff election last December.
Turner said he has been actively involved with the search for a new chief.
He also said he has promoted seven lieutenants and 15 sergeants since the first of the year, and that he is realigning police beats throughout the city. He said 27 new officers graduated from the training academy about two weeks ago and that they now are working in the two busiest precincts in the city, Zone 3 and Zone 4.
Since becoming interim chief, he said he is always in the process of trying to determine who will best fill what role. “I know everybody is on the bus. I want to make sure everybody is in the right seat on the bus,” he said.