Atlanta Police Chief Ericka Shields sent out an email indicating she had been blindsided by the criminal charges, following the six arrests of the Atlanta police officers who used excessive force during the Saturday (May 30) arrest of two college students, Messiah Young and Taniyah Pilgrim.

The email sent to the Atlanta Police Department on Tuesday night (June 2) and leaked to WSB-TV Channel 2, also indicates that Chief Shields had lost tactical support in response to the newly filed charges. 

“Yes, it sucks, and I am beyond discouraged- I’ve been there, and I know just how hard this job is. But if we are ever going to change the narrative around policing, we must be committed to being accountable always, regardless of the situation or the additional stress it may bring,” Shields wrote.   

RELATED: Morehouse Student Pulled From Car By Atlanta Police Says He Kept Thinking 'I Don't Want To Die'

Later explaining how she was unaware that criminal charges would be filed: 

“Our intention was to carry out an administrative investigation into the actions of the other officers on scene; criminal charges were never part of any discussion that I had with the Mayor or her administration. The criminal piece was brought to my attention yesterday through a fellow employee. Upon receiving the information, I called the DA and strongly expressed my concern, both to the appropriateness and the timing of any charges. Now that the charges have been announced, I’m very concerned with the space we find ourselves in, both tactically and emotionally. Multiple agencies that were assisting us in managing this incredibly volatile time have pulled out, effective immediately. They are not comfortable with their employees being leveraged politically by the potential of also facing criminal charges.”

She concluded: 

“I am providing you with this level of detail because you need to know what is going on if there is any chance of us navigating our current state safely. The officers were fired because I felt that is what had to occur. This does not mean for a moment that I will sit quietly by and watch our employees get swept up in the tsunami of political jockeying during an election year. Stay strong and know that we will find better days ahead.”

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard filed aggravated assault and battery charges against Lonnie Hood, Willie Sauls, Ivory Streeter, Mark Gardner, Armond Jones and Roland Claud, the six officers who brutally assaulted the HBCU couple on live TV.

“It was disturbing on many levels. The least of not which was that there clearly was an excessive use of force,” said Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms during a press conference announcing the officers would be charged on May 31. “The use of excessive force is never acceptable.”

In an interview with BET.com Messiah Young recalled the harrowing incident, “I don’t want to die is what kept going through my mind,” he said.  “Every time I close my eyes, I’m literally remembering and being pulled back into the moment. I literally try to just erase it."

Taniyah Pilgrim's lawyers also are looking to file a civil lawsuit in order to compel better behavior from law enforcement, said attorney Justin Miller.

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