ATL Standard

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will continue to receive personal police protection for up to six months after she leaves office, according to a recent report by FOX 5.

The Atlanta City Council approved the round-the-clock police detail during a meeting on Sept. 20. The decision sparked controversy because Atlanta is at least 500 officers short of full staffing, FOX 5 reported.

In a tweet Sept. 24, Tricia Harris, executive aide to Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, responded to criticism of Bottoms, showing support for her time in office.

“Mayor Bottoms valiantly led & protected Atlanta through one of the most tumultuous periods in American history. @AmbAndrewYoung says she's been mayor during the most difficult, complex time of any Atlanta Mayor ever and we applaud & support her,” Harris wrote in her tweet.

Sources told FOX 5 that  Bottoms has received a number of threats the public doesn’t know about. Thinking these threats would just disappear once she is no longer in office is simply unreasonable, a source told FOX 5.

Bottoms announced in May that she would not seek a second term in office.

All future mayors after Bottoms also will receive what is known as “executive protection," which extends beyond their time in office, FOX reported.