A police department in a city famous for its traffic won’t be responding to non-injury auto accidents anymore as part of their response to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The city of Atlanta took to Twitter to announce that the Atlanta Police Department will no longer be dispatched to non-injury automobile accidents where all vehicles remain drivable.
Rather than calling police, drivers involved in non-injury crashes are now being asked to fill out a form to provide information on where and why the crash happened as well as the vehicles and drivers involved.
.@Atlanta_Police will not be dispatched to the scene of non-injury automobile accidents. If you are in an accident with no injuries, complete the SR-13 form found here: https://t.co/FS8X1rpXAd pic.twitter.com/oGvIsCwL9F
— Atlanta 311 (@ATL311) July 30, 2020
Police will still respond to injury crashes, hit and run crashes, and crashes involving roadway blockages.
The Atlanta Police Department says that the new crash response policy is part of social distancing efforts to try to slow the Coronavirus pandemic.
This is not the first time that the Atlanta Police Department’s ability to respond to calls has come into question this summer.
The Atlanta Police Department’s manpower shortages were reported on in March. And in mid-June, officers with the Atlanta Police Department stopped responding to calls in three of the city’s six zones, according to reporting from CNN. The alleged walkout occurred shortly after prosecutors announced that they would issued 11 felony charges against recently fired Atlanta Police Department officer Garrett Rolfe for his role in the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks.
As civil unrest and protests swept the nation in the wake of several high profile officer-involved deaths, there has been an uptick in violence targeting truckers so significant that the FMCSA issued guidance for those who encounter threatening situations on the road. Concerned for their safety, U.S. truckers said that they are uneasy about the idea of delivering to cities with compromised police departments. One trucking company owner also recently unveiled a policy to refuse to send drivers into cities that have defunded or disbanded police departments.