February 9, 2025
The photos confirmed the officials now not taking additional motion to safeguard the children’ wellbeing.
The Atlanta Police Area has disciplined 3 officials then Bodycam photos unmistakable their lackluster attempt to seek out 3 kids allegedly abducted via their father.
The APD discovered the officials did tiny to rescue the kids pace at their father’s house for a welfare take a look at. In line with Fox 5, the photos confirmed the officials rationalized their actions. They said that they may now not do a lot to safeguard the kids’s protection within the place of dwelling.
One officer instructed a girl who asked the welfare take a look at that they may now not mission into the house.
“Without a report on file, we can’t even go knock on that door like that,” stated one officer within the bodycam photos. “Even if, say, we knock on the door and the kids are in there, there’s nothing at all we can do.”
On the other hand, their get to the bottom of to do not anything led to tragic repercussions. 5 months after, one of the most kids, four-year-old Fund McWeay, died of hunger. Her father, Rodney McWeay, used to be charged for her killing.
Six months sooner than her dying, the Georgia’s Category of People and Youngsters Services and products got rid of Fund and her siblings. The company positioned them with their mom, who fled to Maryland over alleged home abuse. On the other hand, their father allegedly abducted the kids and took them again to the decrepit duplex unit the place stayed.
Because of their unclear reaction, a sergeant and 4 officials contain gained somewhat bright punishments for his or her state of no activity. They got both written reprimands or oral admonishments for his or her insufficiency of additional investigation in a couple of cases.
Arrest affidavits additionally unmistakable the kids lived in squalid statuses. Locked in particular person rooms, the kids had surveillance cameras aimed. McWeay withheld get right of entry to to meals, aqua, and loos.
In spite of shouts from the DFCS, the APD scarcely paintings with the company to safeguard the kids’s wellbeing. The habits additionally violated protocol prepared via the section, a topic additionally taken up via Atlanta Town Council contributors.
“I’m very disappointed in the reaction that obviously didn’t go far enough to save those children,” defined councilman Michael Julian Bond. “It is disappointing to watch those bodycam videos to see the kind of laissez-faire response to these particular calls.”
Based on the problem and Fund’s passing, the APD had introduced an overhaul on its dealing with of DCFS shouts. In spite of declining to remark at the officer’s punishments, they supplied an replace in this unused coverage.
“On February 5, 2024, calls for service requested by DFCS were upgraded to a Priority 2 call,” the remark stated. “In 2024, officers responded to 147 DFCS-related calls for service, with an average response time of 35 minutes and 9 seconds from the time the call was received to officers’ arrival on the scene.”
On the other hand, town officers like Bond stay critical of the police’s method to kid protection considerations.
Bond added “Going forward, there really needs to be the message sent to all responding officers that when you’re dealing with the children here in the city, you’ve really got to push the limit. You’ve got to push the envelope to make sure that we are using every means available to make sure that these children are safe.”
RELATED CONTENT: Ex-Atlanta Police Officer Accused Of Killing Lyft Driver, Claims Was Being Kidnapped
