Atlanta Councilman Who Voted To ‘Defund The Police’ This Year, Has Car Stolen By Kids
According to reports, an Atlanta city council member – who is running to be the next mayor – had his Mercedes-Benz coupe taken in broad daylight by kids on Wednesday.
Around noon, Councilman Antonio Brown was attending a ribbon-cutting ceremony at an event in northeast Atlanta when at least four kids got into his vehicle and bolted, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
“You don’t immediately think, ‘Oh, these kids are going to steal my car,’” Brown said, reported by Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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The situation occurred during the city’s current crime epidemic. According to the article, Brown, who entered the mayoral race less than three weeks ago, is running on a platform of “reimagining public safety,”
Last year, he voted in favor of an ordinance that cut $73 million from the Atlanta Police Department’s budget. The ordinance was rejected by a slight margin.
Brown stated the thieves got into his car after he stepped out to talk with community leader Ben Norman on Wednesday.
According to reports, he mentioned that his white Mercedes-Benz coupe had keyless push-to-start ignition and that he was unaware that it had been started.
According to FOX 5, the councilman identified the children as being between the ages of 6 and 12.
“One kid was in the driver’s seat. Ben attempted to open the door to get him out of the car. He fought with Ben. I then engaged and tried to get him out of the car. The three other kids were trying to figure out how to get in the car or stay out of the car. He started to hit on the gas,” Brown said.
Brown continued that he was holding on to the car trying to stop them but was dragged almost a block down the street before he let go.
“As he started to speed up, and I knew that if I had not let go, I knew I probably could have killed myself because he was going so fast, I would have started to tumble. And I would have hurt him,” the councilman said.
According to Atlanta’s WSB-TV, Brown has no plans to press charges against the youngsters, who he claims acted out of desperation.
“This is a generational poverty issue. These kids, it’s 12:30 in the afternoon. Why aren’t they in school? Why aren’t we enforcing systems to ensure that if they are not in school, they’re in recreational centers?” he said.
The Atlanta police are still investigating the incident.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Brown was indicted on federal fraud charges pertaining to alleged incidents that happened in the years before he won the council position in 2019.
“Prosecutors said the councilman lied about his income on applications to obtain loans and credit cards used for personal purchases,” the outlet reported.
Footage from Atlanta City Councilman Antonio Brown joing mayoral race:
