Thread: 'Don't Run' (from the police) billboard campaign causes controversy

'Don't Run' billboard campaign causes controversy

6:31 p.m. Wednesday, May 13, 2015 | COMMENTS

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Citizen Review Board suspended its controversial "Don't Run" campaign after the city's law department asked to review it.

The campaign includes billboards and posters around the city encouraging people not to run from police when they are investigating incidents.

ACRB Executive Director Lee Reid believes running from police can lead to injuries.


"Don't Run" billboards promote the campaign in Atlanta.

"You should know that if you stand here, and you assert your rights respectfully and in a way that does not convey a threat to the officer, everything should be fine," Reid said. "If you're running away, you can't assert your rights because you're running."

Reid said the "Don't Run" campaign is part of a larger campaign to educate people about their constitutional rights.

Even critics like Atlanta City Councilmembers Keisha Lance Bottoms and Kwanza Hall support the idea of the campaign, but they feel telling people not to run is like telling people not to exercise their constitutional rights.

Bottoms believes that, unless you are being detained by police, you have a right to run.

"Are we as a city saying to people there's something wrong with you exercising your constitutional rights?" said Bottoms. "I think essentially by saying 'don't run', you're telling people don't exercise your right. You have a right to run."

Atlanta City Councilmember Kwanza Hall supports the idea of the campaign but doesn't like the way it’s marketed.

"That's really the message they're trying to get out," said Hall. "But there's another way to do it. I think it's semantics. We just need to figure out how to fix it."

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/n...olice-s/nmGDq/

http://www.alipac.us/f19/rush-judgme...safety-319447/