Atlanta Councilman Antonio Brown Who Voted to Defund Police Department's Budget, Reports Car Missing

A mayoral candidate in Atlanta who voted to cut millions of dollars from the state's police budget had his car stolen by a group of young thieves last week and ended up praising the officers for their assistance.

City Council Member Antonio Brown had just gotten out of his white Mercedes coupe in northwest Atlanta's Dixie Hills neighborhood to speak with fellow community leader Ben Norman when he noticed four or five children, the youngest of whom was just 6 or 7 years old. The kids were roaming around a store and were inside his car in seconds, he claimed.

Brown reported five kids stole his car

Brown told WAGA-TV, "One kid was in the driver's seat." "Ben tried to get out of the car by opening the door. He got into a fight with Ben. I then got into a fight with him and tried to pull him out of the car. The other three kids were pondering whether they should get in or stay out of the car. He began to press the accelerator. Ben gave up control."

"As he began to accelerate, I realized that if I hadn't let off, I may have killed myself since he was going so fast," he continued. "And I would have hurt him," NY Post reported.

Antonio Brown stated that he reported the incident to the Atlanta Police Department. "Thank you to everyone who checked in on me; I appreciate the love and support. My car hasn't been found yet, but things could have turned out a lot worse," he tweeted late Wednesday.

Authorities confirmed they discovered his car afterward but did not indicate whether any arrests were made. Brown has claimed that he does not intend to seek charges. The Atlanta Councilman said that the kids appeared to be acting out of desperation.

Brown called a press conference to address the public outrage he was facing. He also shared new information regarding the incident that he hadn't previously shared. He described another incident that occurred as he was attempting to prevent children from stealing his car.

"On the passenger side of the vehicle, one of the other kids hinted that he had a gun by behaving as though he was holding something beneath his shirt. I had no idea if it was a gun or not, and we still have no idea whether it was a gun or not," Brown stated on Thursday morning, as per CBS46. Brown also responded to questions regarding his stance on police defunding.

Antonio Brown previously launched his mayoral run

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Brown assisted in the unanimous passage of a resolution by the Atlanta City Council earlier this month. It was to push the Atlanta Police Department to update its policies to give cops more accountability if they see a colleague committing misconduct or breaking department rules.

The outlet indicated he was one of seven council members who voted to withhold $73 million from Atlanta's police department budget until Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms' administration prepared a plan to revamp the city's policing culture.