ATLANTA (AP) — Records show that at least 1,800 criminal cases have been dismissed in a metro Atlanta county court since 2010 because police officers failed to show up in court dispute being subpoenaed to testify.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://bit.ly/11vTLIr) reported the findings after its investigation of Fulton County Magistrate Court.

The newspaper also found that court officials don't notify police departments when officers miss court, and prosecutors do so in only a fraction of cases.

Atlanta Police Chief George Turner said he wants to get the problem corrected, but can't correct it if he's not notified.

The greatest impact of the dismissed cases is on the victims of crimes that are not prosecuted in the court, which handles misdemeanor crimes. Many of the cases involve people who have been victims of violence.

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