ATLANTA - Atlanta vice squad officers are back on the streets after undercover operations were suspended for 10 days following the police shootings of two suspected prostitutes, one of them fatal. <br>
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Police Chief Richard Pennington, who put the vice unit on hiatus Aug. 6 this month, said Thursday that 26 officers have been ``retrained and reconditioned,'' and were eager to get back to work. Just 20 minutes into their first day back, vice officers had made two arrests. <br>
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Pennington said the officers spent three days at the police academy getting trained in safety measures, the use of force, firearms and technology. <br>
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Undercover vice officers will now ride in cars with surveillance equipment. Backup teams will be better situated to respond and monitor undercover officers, who must now work within specified geographical boundaries. <br>
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On July 10, a vice officer shot 18-year-old Aneika James after she stabbed him while he was trying to arrest her. On Aug. 5, 35-year-old Tessa Hardeman was fatally shot after police said she pepper sprayed and stabbed a vice officer.
