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APD’s Kreher steps from batter’s box to lieutenant’s job
Kasim Reed hasn’t even been sworn in as Atlanta’s new mayor, but one of his key supporters has already been promoted.
Scott Kreher, the police sergeant who spoke of wanting to whack Mayor Shirley Franklin with a baseball bat, is now a lieutenant.
A memo announcing Kreher’s rise circulated a week ago, just a day after Reed chose George Turner as his interim police chief. Kreher’s was among about a half-dozen promotions approved by outgoing Chief Richard Pennington.
Kreher runs the Atlanta chapter of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, which endorsed Reed Nov. 17 in his runoff race against City Council member Mary Norwood. Reed, who’s promised to hire 750 new police officers, wound up winning by a wafer-thin 714 votes.
In May, Kreher told City Council members he’d gotten so frustrated with Atlanta’s neglect of injured police officers that he felt like bashing Franklin in the head with a baseball bat.
The police sergeant later apologized, but Franklin wasn’t buying it, issuing this statement:
“Sgt Kreher’s threat to beat me in the head with a baseball bat is reprehensible, a violation of his oath of office and a disgrace to the many men and women who serve proudly as law enforcement officers in Atlanta and across America. His threat cannot be tolerated or explained away. I believe his threat to be serious and an attempt to intimidate me and other city officials and my family.”
Pennington placed Kreher on administrative leave for a couple months after the exchange and ordered him to undergo psychological testing.
Franklin later filed a complaint against Kreher with the Fulton County district attorney and U.S. Attorney’s office. There’s no word on the status of those investigations.
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4 Responses to “APD’s Kreher steps from batter’s box to lieutenant’s job”
I thought Kasim & Shirley were still pretty well friends. But anyway, Kasim’s a straight-talker. In a city council meeting, you shouldn’t talk about beating anyone (no matter how much you’re thinking it), but I could see Kasim appreciating someone who states his business, no BS. Esp. if that person is a union leader
You, sir, are uninformed.
Scott took the test last fall for Lt. He simply scored the highest score of all sgts. When Pennington promoted the temporary chief, it causes all the rank and file to step up into the vacant rank positions from Chief down to Lt.
Scott was the top scorer on the list when the opening came up. Based on this and this alone, he was promoted to Lt. It is not a political decision, it is merit based.
In fact, he requested zone 5, but was denied and stayed in zone 4. So much for politics helping the career. You owe Scott and Reed an apology for this smear.
Kreher would have been promoted to Lieutenant if Mary Norwood, Lisa Borders, or Neal Boortz had been elected Mayor. The rank of Lieutenant in the A.P.D. is a tested, civil-service rank. Kreher took the test, ended up ranked high enough to be promoted as soon as the Council released the funds to fill the vacancies. Kasim Reed winning the election didn’t have anything to do with it. Get your facts straight, bud before you start implying that political patronage was at play.
what shaME