Officer Dani Lee Harris returned to work at the Atlanta Police Department on Monday, but not in the position she would like.
The former LGBT liaison for the APD said she reported to duty in the ID division of the APD located on Donald Lee Howell Road and is now in charge of expunging records from computers after court cases are resolved and orders to do so are handed down.
“I’m glad to be at work, glad to be making a paycheck,” she said. She said the officers in her department welcomed her warmly.
The Atlanta Police Department will soon name a second LGBT liaison, the department announced Aug. 31, after previously insisting that APD already had two LGBT liaisons.
In the release, which also announces the members of the new nine-member LGBT advisory board, Mayor Kasim Reed “pledged to have the Atlanta Police Department appoint a second GLBT liaison.” Having two LGBT liaisons on the APD was a campaign promise he made last year while running for mayor.
However, what is not said in the release is what will happen to Dani Lee Harris, the former LGBT liaison who went on medical leave in April after she said suffered gran mal seizures.
Senior Patrol Officer Patricia Powell, the new LGBT liaison for the Atlanta Police Department, has stopped in at least one gay-owned business to introduce herself as part of her new duties.
“My initial thought [of Powell] is I’m impressed,” said Philip Rafshoon, owner of Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse, who said Powell dropped into his store about two weeks ago and also attended the Pearl Cleage reading on May 20.
Mayor Kasim Reed pledged earlier this year that Atlanta would have at least two fulltime LGBT police liaisons, but confusion remains as to whether Powell’s appointment truly fulfills that goal.
