Atlanta police chief to retire as city’s homicide rate rises

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens says the city’s police chief will retire this summer. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Police Chief Rodney Bryant’s departure in June comes amid a spike in homicides. Mayor Dickens said when he took office this year that he would assess Bryant’s performance in his first 100 days before deciding whether to search for a new chief. Dickens says that national search begins now, and he’s looking for a leader who shares his vision for the city. The mayor told the newspaper last week that the homicide rate is “too high for me. Too high for our citizens.”