Atlanta Police change safety protocols responding to police shootings

ATLANTA - The Atlanta Police Department is taking steps to help ease officers concerns as they patrol city streets.

Atlanta Police Sergeant Warren Pickard said the department is responding to deadly police ambushes in Dallas and Baton Rouge, and admits the recent attacks are alarming.

“We are concerned. We meet with our officers every day at roll call. We have discussions about what officers need to do to protect themselves,” said Sgt. Pickard.

As part of a change in the department's safety protocols, two patrol cars will now respond, instead of one, on certain calls. In some instances, two officers may patrol in one vehicle as they respond to calls. They reassure the public the move won't impact response times.

“Calls where we know that a subject is already armed, calls where a caller calls 911 and indicates and is able to explain a level of violence has already occurred on a call those are particularly concerning to us. We want to make sure our officers are there and have backup readily available,” said Sgt. Pickard.