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AJC Investigations

Chases Unchecked series

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Credit: Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com

Part 1: How state patrol pursuits endanger Georgians

An AJC investigation of 6,700 GSP pursuits found more than half ended in crashes, often injuring bystanders.

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Credit: GSP

Part 2: GSP tactic meant to end chases leads to death at high speeds

State troopers face few limits in using the PIT maneuver at high speeds, leading to 19 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

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Part 3: A GSP chase left a bystander with $124K in medical bills. State law said he couldn't sue

Georgia's Department of Public Safety is often shielded from lawsuits, giving the agency wide discretion in chases.

Latest investigations
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Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

More than $600M to overhaul a prison system in crisis. But it’s just the start

State budget includes money to fix state prison system suffering from violence, massive understaffing and security lapses.

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Credit: Daniel Varnado

Have you had experience with GNETS? The AJC wants to hear from you.

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Family begs Atlanta council for answers after 2021 police shooting

The family of Gabriel Parker, who was fatally shot in July 2021, told City Council members the wait for the oversight board to investigate is excruciating.

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Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Georgia man accused of creating lewd AI images of minors indicted, denied bond

Police say the Pepsi vendor used his access to Gilmer County schools to photograph female students and used artificial intelligence to turn the images into lewd pornography.

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Credit: Atlanta Police

Kick, sexual assaults: Serious injuries by Atlanta police not investigated by citizen board

The APD has not notified the Atlanta Citizen Review Board about in-custody injuries, including kicking and sexually assaulting civilians.

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Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC

Deadly crash reignites debate over Georgia State Patrol’s pursuit practices

A Georgia State Patrol chase that that killed a 19-year-old bystander in Atlanta last week thrust the agency into the middle of a public debate about police pursuits.

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Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Advocates seek to curb GSP high-speed chases after Atlanta bystander killed

Chase that killed bystander in Atlanta's Little Five Points spurs calls for 'immediate' Georgia State Patrol reforms.

Atlanta chief backs citizen review of police deadly force

Follow on to an AJC investigation into failure of citizen review board to probe cases of police deadly force. Police chief supports its oversight role and pledges cooperation.

Fizz, anonymous gossip app, attracts chatter and cyberbullying

At schools across Atlanta, Fizz collects GIFs, polls and posts where students comment and engage in daily banter that routinely turns into bullying.

LIVES ON THE LINE

How metro Atlanta’s 911 systems evolved after series of tragedies

Fewer emergency callers are placed on long holds as metro Atlanta 911 agencies improve staffing problems and technology breakdowns.

Georgia Prisons

A prisoner looks out of his cell in the Special Management Unit at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in this 2015 file photo. In a damning ruling, U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell wrote in April that state prison officials showed no desire or intention to make the required changes to SMU's solitary confinement practices. (David Goldman/AP 2015 file)

Credit: AP

Georgia prison system engages in deception as crisis builds

Response to a 2019 prison lawsuit settlement exposes how Georgia Department of Corrections officials block potentially damaging information and present falsified documents.

Georgia prison corruption series: Inside Job

Deaths at record level in Georgia state prisons as crisis deepens

The number of deaths inside Georgia prisons in the first half of 2024 exceeds the number of prisoner deaths during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Police Deadly Force

ajc.com

Atlanta police held him down for 17 minutes before he died; citizen board failed to review

AJC investigation finds 39 police shootings and in-custody deaths awaiting review by the panel since 2020, including the fatal arrest of Ricardo Dorado Jr.

Citizen board yields to council demands for more police oversight

Changes eyed to handling of Atlanta police deadly force

City Council members ask sharp questions about lack of police deadly force investigations

City Council members grill official on failure to investigate police deadly force cases.

Senior Care

Patricia Miele went missing from Greenwood Place Assisted Living and Memory Care in Marietta in November, prompting an all-hands-on-deck search involving multiple police agencies. Now, an inspection report raises questions about the facility’s adherence to community protocols. (Marietta Police)

Credit: Marietta Police Department

89-year-old wandered away and died after Marietta senior care home failed to check on her

New report says assisted living facility with previous staffing citation didn't notify police for nearly two hours after she went missing.

Still unprotected: Senior care homes skate by with few fines

In 2020, Georgia passed reforms to better hold assisted living and personal care homes accountable for violations — four years later, the sector looks much the same.

Dozens go missing from Georgia senior care homes, some with deadly results

AJC investigation: Three residents wandering off from senior care facilities have died since November 2023. Such "elopements" often result in low fines from state regulators.

Breakdown

Former DA Jackie Johnson testifies on her own behalf earlier this month during her trial over a charge of violating her oath of office during the investigation of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder. (Terry Dickson/AP pool)

Credit: Terry Dickson

‘Breakdown’ S08, Ep20: Jackie Johnson goes to trial

In a special episode of the AJC's Breakdown podcast, the former DA in the Ahmaud Arbery shooting case faces her own day in court.

LISTEN: ‘The Trump Indictment’ podcast — ‘Goodbye for Now’

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's 'Breakdown': Two figures in the Trump racketeering trial, DA Fani Willis and Judge Scott McAfee, face Election Day.

Data Journalism

The Washington County Courthouse is located in downtown Sandersville. In five of the past six elections, a Democrat has been chosen for president in the east Georgia county. (Miguel Martinez/AJC 2024)

Credit: Miguel Martinez

How Georgia counties shifted in the 2024 election

Most Georgia counties have shifted to the right, setting the stage for Donald Trump's victory. Here is deep look at county-level results for the recent presidential elections.

See how Cobb County and Gwinnett county precincts voted on transit referendums

In both counties, “yes” votes were more likely in neighborhoods along the busy interstate corridors of I-75 and I-85, according to analysis of voting by precinct.

The STD epidemic has slowed dramatically in the U.S. but not in Georgia

The U.S. syphilis epidemic slowed dramatically last year, gonorrhea cases fell and chlamydia cases remained below prepandemic levels.

American Dream for Rent

Aerial view of Winslow at Eagles Landing neighborhood, where large number of homes are owned by investors, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, in McDonough. Two companies — Invitation Homes and Progress Residential — each own more than 10,000 homes in the metro Atlanta area as of, or near the end of, the 2nd quarter 2022. In fact, there are 11 companies with ties to private equity that own more than 1,000 homes, according to an AJC analysis. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

Credit: Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com

Investors elbow out individual home buyers

Investors slam tenants with fees, evictions

Investors zero in on Black neighborhoods

911 Calls

Tonya McElrathbey embraces her daughter Brianna McElrathbey outside her house during a family reunion as the other siblings pose in the background. Tonya’s family has always been together, but their bond grows stronger after Brianna’s incident when she was shot on January 2, 2024. Miguel Martinez /miguel.martinezjimenez@ajc.com

Credit: Miguel Martinez

911 callers left waiting on hold across metro Atlanta

LIVES ON THE LINE

How metro Atlanta’s 911 systems evolved after series of tragedies

Fewer emergency callers are placed on long holds as metro Atlanta 911 agencies improve staffing problems and technology breakdowns.

Gwinnett County and a 911 call nightmare

Dangerous Dwellings

Danielle Russell wiped her tears as she continued to deal with problems in her apartment; even though the court ordered the Pavillion Place complex to make her home habitable, the opposite happened the facilities continued to deteriorate. Miguel Martinez /miguel.martinezjimenez@ajc.com

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

At violent apartment complexes, business model thrives on housing shortage, government inaction

AJC INVESTIGATION: The Atlanta area’s most dangerous apartments increasingly are owned by private equity firms and other absentee investors whose business model traps tens of ...

Dangerous Dwellings Part 2: Making money from misery

Dangerous Dwellings Part 3: Georgia’s renter protections among nation’s weakest

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More Investigations

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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Georgia AI-generated child pornography case spurs legislative action

The issue came to Georgia with the arrest of a Pepsi vendor who took advantage of his access to a local high school to take photos of girls he encountered.

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Credit: Christina Matacotta for The Atlanta Journal-

Citizen board yields to council demands for more police oversight

Changes eyed to handling of Atlanta police deadly force

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GSP’s aggressive pursuit culture endangers public like few other state agencies in the country, AJC finds

The major takeaways from the AJC's investigation of the GSP's pursuit policies and how they affect bystanders

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Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Student victims of vendor accused of using AI to turn their images into porn file lawsuit

Student victims of vendor accused of using AI to turn their images into child porn file lawsuit

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Credit: Miguel Martinez

Bystanders, passengers injured in Ga. State Patrol pursuits have few legal protections

Georgia's Department of Public Safety, including GSP, is often shielded from lawsuits, giving the agency wide discretion in chases.

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Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

City Council members ask sharp questions about lack of police deadly force investigations

City Council members grill official on failure to investigate police deadly force cases.

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Credit: Katherine Landergan

Disability agency chief says job services for vulnerable Georgians improving

The executive director’s assessment comes months after an investigation by the AJC documented longstanding systemic problems within the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agenc

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Police deadly force cases must be investigated, say Dickens, City Council

Atlanta Citizen Review Board looks to revamp process to investigate police shootings and in-custody deaths, in response to concerns of inaction.

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Credit: Marietta Police Department

89-year-old wandered away and died after Marietta senior care home failed to check on her

New report says assisted living facility with previous staffing citation didn't notify police for nearly two hours after she went missing.

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Health care provider bankruptcy may stick rural Georgia with state prisoners’ medical bills

Public ambulance services and hospitals are owed $75 million from the now-bankrupt Wellpath. Some want the state to reimburse them.