Police Raid

To city officials in Atlanta, it was a case of grand larceny. Right there in the downtown Holiday Inn, in daylight, recruiters from the city of Houston were trying to steal members of Atlanta's police department. Their inducement was a higher salary ($14,475) than Atlanta's first-year officers earn ($11,510).

Sputtered an Atlanta TV editorialist: "A lowdown, dirty trick." Said Mayor Maynard Jackson: "This is pouring salt in the wound." Because of budget problems, Atlanta's men in blue have been receiving meager raises. In addition, a suit filed by black officers in 1973 claiming illegal discrimination has caused a hiring freeze, resulting in 220 vacancies on the force. Jackson cabled Houston Mayor James McConn: "Object very strongly."

It was a plea that Houston officials would not cop, explaining that they recruit in other cities and were not picking on Atlanta. They went ahead and interviewed more than 300 candidates, including about 25 Atlanta policemen.

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