Crime & Safety

APD Names New Graffiti Abatement Officer

Officer Brad Etterle replaces Office Ari Bleifeld, who is has been promoted to APD's APEX Unit.

The Atlanta Police Department said Tuesday it named Officer Brad Etterle its new graffiti abatement officer. As the graffiti abatement officer, Etterle will represent the enforcement arm of the Mayor’s Graffiti Task Force.

The Graffiti Task Force, part of the city's focus on so-called , is charged with stemming graffiti and arresting taggers who deface public and private property.

Etterle, who joined APD in 2008, replaces Office Ari Bleifeld, whom APD officials said was key to the department's aggressive targeting of graffiti taggers.

He arrested seven repeat graffiti vandals after months of investigation last fall. Six of them were convicted on city charges in Atlanta Municipal Court, including .

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A seventh awaits final disposition of his case.

Bleifeld has been promoted to the rank of Investigator and is now assigned to the APD’s APEX Unit, which specializes in identifying and targeting violent crime trends throughout the city.

“Officer Bleifeld has done a great job sending the message that we will not tolerate vandals who deface public or private property,” APD Police Chief George N. Turner said in a statement.

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“Under Officer Etterle and the continued work of the Mayor’s Graffiti Task Force and the APD’s Community Oriented Policing Section, we will continue to aggressively identify and apprehend those who choose to violate our graffiti laws.”

If you see graffiti vandals in progress: 

  1. Call 911 so an officer can be sent out to the scene.
  2. Call your local Zone if you want to file a vandalism report following the vandalism of your own personal property. East Atlanta Patch is covered by:
    1. Zone 3: 404.624.0674
    2. Zone 5: 404.658.7054
    3. Zone 6: 404.371.5002
  3. You also may call the “graffiti hotline” at 404.546.4288.

 


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