Replay: Funeral For Former Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington

ATLANTA, GA -- Funeral services began Friday morning for Richard Pennington, the former Atlanta police chief who passed away last week after a protracted illness. Police cruisers lined the streets around Cascade United Methodist Church at 3144 Cascade Road SW in Atlanta.

A visitation took place Thursday at Murray Brothers Cascade Chapel on Utoy Springs Road in Atlanta.
The funeral service for Pennington begins at 10:30 a.m. at Cascade United Methodist Church, 3144 Cascade Road SW. A funeral procession began about 9:30 Friday morning.

Pennington, 70, is credited with transforming the police force in Atlanta and New Orleans, where he held the job of top cop. SIGN UP: To get notified of other Cascade news like this, click here to sign up for the East Cobb Patch. Or find your Atlanta-area town here. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.

Read more: Richard Pennington, dead at 70

Below is a live feed from the video, via Facebook Live / WXIA.

Pennington, widely known as a reformer, came to Atlanta in 2002 to serve under the administration of then-Mayor Shirley Franklin. His eight-year tenure was marked with grandiose announcements about the decrease in crime -- but the numbers backed it up.

Before Georgia, Pennington served as police superintendent in New Orleans. Joining the force there in 1994, Pennington was known as a no-nonsense disciplinarian who quickly made moves to restore pride in a department that had became synonymous with corruption and apathy.

Former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial, who appointed Pennington, told the Times-Picayune that he was "hands down, by far, without any comparison, the best police chief New Orleans has had."

Pennington, who was familiar with big-city crime as a deputy chief in Washington D.C., immediately implemented broad measures to stem corruption and weed out rogue officers. The New Orleans murder rate plummeted.

Former NOPD Superintendent Ronal Serpas, who worked under Pennington said that he was instrumental in making New Orleans a better place to live.

"He was a relentless crime fighter and advocate of Community Policing," Serpas told WDSU-TV. "Most importantly, he knew the value of building new generations of police leaders to advance policing. New Orleans is a better place because of his time here."

Pennington leaves behind his wife, Rene, and Richard Pennington Jr. his son. He also is survived by his brother, Jerome Pennington and a sister, Donna Gay.

Image via Atlanta PD / Twitter