‘After Action Report’ a Bust Police reveal little about Nichols manhunt mistakes
By Tim Eberly
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
December 17, 2008
Atlanta police Chief Richard Pennington promised to find out “what went right and what went wrong” in the manhunt for Fulton County Courthouse killer Brian Nichols. More than three years after the massive police dragnet, the Police Department has released its answer in the form of a 21-page “After Action Report.”
Atlanta’s report, however, is long on details already known to the public and short on constructive criticism. It also briefly mentions actions the department was taking three years ago to prevent the same mistakes from happening again, although most of those never came to fruition. While the department acknowledges some mistakes in its report, it glosses over others. At times, the report dwells more on technological problems, such as mismatched computer software, than on street-level police work that occasionally missed the mark.
Former Atlanta police Deputy Chief Lou Arcangeli, who retired in 2002 after nearly 30 years with the department, said after-action reports have never been the department’s forte. They are common in law enforcement after major police events, acting as a training tool by highlighting successes and failures. In the past three decades, Atlanta police have never done them routinely, Arcangeli said, adding that he could only remember one such report during his tenure, in connection with local violence related to the Rodney King beating trial.
Police departments often shy away from them because they fear embarrassment or making themselves legally liable, Arcangeli said. “So you can tell a lot about an agency by the focus of their after-action reports and their commitment to self-improvement,” Arcangeli said. Neither Pennington nor the deputy chief in charge of preparing the report, Pete Andresen, would do an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the report. “There will be no further comment at this time,” Sgt. Lisa Keyes, a police spokeswoman, said on Monday.
The Journal-Constitution obtained a copy of the after-action report last week after filing numerous Open Records Act requests, beginning in late spring 2005. The report is undated and Keyes did not respond to questions about when it was completed and who wrote it. Much of the report details how Nichols, on trial for rape in March 2005, overpowered a female deputy, killed a judge, court reporter and sheriff’s sergeant inside the courthouse before carjacking five people and later killing a federal agent.
The author touched on what went wrong:
- The 17 law enforcement agencies involved were confused about who was in charge. “It was never completely clarified to all of those involved who was the lead agency, and this caused communication to not flow smoothly among the departments,” the report said.
- There were numerous communication problems involving police radios, computer software and tiplines for the public to call with tips. The police agencies also did not have a shared and secure radio channel to communicate. The computer software used was not appropriate for managing and tracking the 1,200 tips that came in. Tiplines got clogged because of people mistakenly calling the same number to offer donations.
- Some police work was sloppy or incomplete. Carjacking crime scenes were not thoroughly searched, some possible witnesses were not interviewed, and authorities did not respond with enough manpower to at least one crime scene.When missteps are cited in the report, it is often without elaboration. For example, discussing Nichols’ escape on foot from a downtown parking garage, the report stated the garage employees “were not interviewed” and that police officials who handled that crime scene later got instruction on “the importance of proper crime scene processing.” Not included in the report is what could have been done to prevent Nichols from making his getaway on a MARTA train to the Lenox Square mall area. MARTA trains weren’t shut down after the shootings, although Atlanta’s public schools were.
Meanwhile, most pchanges in the wake of the Nichols case never got completed:
- The city spent more than $1 million creating shared radio channels for 16 police agencies in metro Atlanta.
- Atlanta police and Fulton County authorities considered a joint 911 Communications Center, but chose not to pursue it.
- Atlanta police were working with local, state and federal officials to identify software better suited for critical incidents, but have continued to use the same software.
- Atlanta police were working with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to develop an operations plan for such incidents, but it was not finished.
IN SUMMARY, THE ATLANTA COPS ARE STILL A BUNCH OF SCREWUPS....
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