Moses Russ, a 24-year-old Atlanta police recruit just weeks from being sworn in, died Tuesday morning after his motorcycle collided with an SUV at Moreland Avenue and McDonough Boulevard. “He was the exact type of person we would want to be a police officer,” said Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum.
An Atlanta police recruit has died in a crash on Moreland Avenue early Tuesday morning, officials say — a loss that has shaken both the department and the city.
What Happened
According to the Atlanta Police Department, the crash happened shortly before 7:17 a.m. near the intersection of McDonough Boulevard and Moreland Avenue on the city’s southeast side. Moses Russ, 24, was riding a motorcycle when it collided with a Nissan Kicks SUV as he headed to work.
Medics rushed Russ to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. The other driver involved suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
A Recruit Close to Finishing His Training
Russ was in his 16th week of training with APD’s Class 302 and would have been sworn in around the holidays, Chief Schierbaum told reporters at an afternoon news conference. As part of his training, he had already been deployed downtown during the FIFA World Cup.
“He was preparing to serve the public, preparing to serve you as citizens and members of this great region,” Mayor Andre Dickens said at the news conference.
Schierbaum didn’t mince words about the kind of officer Russ was becoming. “The exact type of person we would want to be a police officer,” he called him.
Before joining APD, Russ served two years with the Atlanta Department of Corrections and was also a member of the U.S. Coast Guard. Atlanta Chief of Corrections Elder Dancy said Russ was beloved by his fellow team members and consistently went out of his way to ensure that people in custody were treated with dignity.
“Like a Brother to Them”
The loss has hit especially hard within APD’s recruit class. Training for the other recruits has been paused to give them time to grieve, Schierbaum said, describing Russ’s death as “a very tough time.”
“They have lost a friend and fellow recruit who was like a brother to them,” he said.
The pain is compounded by the fact that some of Russ’s own classmates and instructors came upon the crash scene and stopped to render aid to one of their own.
A City Mourns
In a statement, Mayor Dickens reflected on the weight of the loss. “Atlanta lost a young public servant this morning with the passing of APD Recruit Moses Russ,” he said. “The pain of this loss is especially heavy for his classmates and instructors, some of whom came upon the scene and stopped to render aid to one of their own. My heart is with Moses’ family and loved ones, his Class 302 brothers and sisters, his instructors and the entire APD family. We will surround them with support in the difficult days ahead and honor Moses for the life he lived and the service he had already given to his country and Atlanta.”
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp also offered condolences, sharing on social media that he and his family are praying for Russ’s family and the broader community as they mourn.
“We send our deepest condolences to all who knew and loved him,” Kemp wrote.
