Press Releases

Atlanta Police Department Public Affairs 226 Peachtree Street SW • Atlanta, Georgia 30303

 News Release  

(Atlanta) – Members of the Atlanta Police Department traveled to San Salvador, El Salvador to train law enforcement officers in partner nations on investigating and responding to hate crimes.

Hispanic Liaison Officer Miguel Lugo, Officer Kathleen Carozza and Detective C.J. Murphy; former LGBT Liaison, recently traveled to San Salvador to teach criminal justice officials about bias-motivated violent hate crimes directed at vulnerable populations, especially the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) communities abroad.

Law enforcement officials from seven countries: Ecuador, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Honduras, Colombia and Peru participated in the training. Attendees discussed how they address hate crimes in their respective countries. The Atlanta Police officers provided practical solutions and training techniques so that officials are better equipped to handle sensitive cases in their respective countries.

During the training, participants also discussed a case in Peru that involved a serial killer who targeted members of the LGBTI community. An arresting officer in the case was a participant in the discussion.

“After the training the participants were anxious to get back to their countries and apply what they learned,” said Hispanic Liaison Officer Miguel Lugo.

Since 2011, the Atlanta Police Department has partnered with the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) on various initiatives to support law enforcement and anti-crime efforts overseas. The Atlanta Police Department has provided specialized training to 1800 foreign law enforcement officers, tackling hate crimes, gangs, and training officers to be effective while serving their communities. The specialized training is at no cost to the City of Atlanta and its citizens. The training is funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

A brief history of the partnership

Atlanta Police and the State Department have partnered in several other instances. In April 2015, Officer Eric King conducted a presentation in Washington, DC on the Atlanta Police Department’s investigations of hate crimes and other efforts, including community relations related to with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) community for State Department and other federal government colleagues.

In June 2014, INL asked the Atlanta Police Department to travel to the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in San Salvador, El Salvador to teach 35 criminal justice officials from Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Jamaica, Latin America, Mexico and the Caribbean about hate crimes, including those crimes directed at the LGBT community.

In May 2013, during INL’s Partner Appreciation Ceremony, the Atlanta Police Department was recognized with an Assistant Secretary Award along with two other police departments for their important contributions to the Department of State’s police programs.

In December 2012, the Atlanta Police Department hosted a study tour for a group of female Pakistani Police Officers who were interested in the role of women in policing as it relates to the recruitment, training, and promotions to command level positions. They had an opportunity to meet women at all levels of leadership and to ride along with female patrol officers from different zones.

Earlier in 2012, Capt. William Gourley and Sgt. Warren Pickard traveled to Timor-Leste to assist with the development of that fledgling nation’s police department. While there, Capt. Gourley and Sgt. Pickard created training curricula and taught classes on various matters related to law enforcement.   

###

Our mission is to create a safer Atlanta by reducing crime, ensuring the safety of our citizens and building trust in partnership with our communities.

www.atlantapd.org ~ twitter @Atlanta_Police ~ facebook.com/AtlantaPolice ~ youtube.com/AtlantaPoliceDpt