Hundreds rally against 'Cop City' ahead of Atlanta City Council vote

May 16th, 2023

Community members speak in opposition of the construction of a new Public Safety Training Center in the South River Forest at an Atlanta City Council meeting on Monday, May 15, 2023. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

The Atlanta City Council is moving forward with a vote to allocate millions of dollars to a private nonprofit that plans to build a controversial police and firefighter training center in South DeKalb County.

It’s the area where a protester, Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, was shot and killed by state troopers during a clearing operation in January. It’s also known as “Cop City.”

Councilmember Dustin Hillis introduced the ordinance Monday night after more than seven hours of public comment opposing the project.

If approved, it would authorize the transfer of $30 million from the fiscal year 2023 budget for the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center and $1 million for a gym at the site.

It would also allow the city to lease the 85-acre facility to the Atlanta Police Foundation for $10 a year for 50 years. Meanwhile, the remaining acreage for the project is to be kept as greenspace.

The project is expected to cost $90 million, with the rest of the funding coming from the Atlanta Police Foundation. The nonprofit is raising the money through “private philanthropy,” including corporate contributions from Bank of America, Chick-fil-A, Coca-Cola, Gas South, Georgia Pacific, Norfolk Southern and UPS.

Before the ordinance was introduced, dozens of protesters rallied against the project outside city hall. They say the legislation goes against what council members have been saying, which is that there’s little they can do to stop it.

Members of the public line up to give public comment at a Atlanta City Council meeting on Monday, May 15, 2023. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

“We have been here time and time again, and they keep thinking we’re going to go away,” Community Movement Builders Founder Kamau Franklin said. “But as you can see, the numbers keep growing. … They’ve (council members) decided to do what’s good for them instead of doing what’s good for Black folks.”

Nearly 300 people signed up to speak during public comment. The line wrapped around city hall and out the door.

It was reminiscent of the September 2021 city council meeting, where a previous class that included Mayor Andre Dickens and seven current members authorized the plan to build the facility in a 10-4 vote, after 17 hours of mostly negative comments.

Since then, opponents have continued to raise concerns about the project’s impact on the surrounding forest and police violence in the area’s lower-income, majority-Black neighborhoods. Speakers on Monday included Civil Rights and environmental justice activists.

Maya Nahor said no amount of tree planting will make up for “destroying established, incredibly complex ecosystems.”

Hundreds hoping to give public comment in opposition to the construction of a new Public Safety Training Center during an Atlanta City Council meeting on Monday, May 15, 2023. Some in line lead chants, “Viva, viva, Tortuguita!” and “Stop Cop City!” (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

“Atlanta did its job raising me, and now I’m trying to do my job to protect it,” Nahor said. “I learned this lesson as a child, and as I recall, your generation was in the room with me. You were reading me ‘The Giving Tree.’ You were reading me ‘The Lorax.'”

Another community member, Rukia Rogers, said the same system that led to George Floyd’s murder in 2020 is now leveraging its influence and capital to push forward with the development of “Cop City.”

Rev. Keyanna Jones reads a letter and speaks in oppositon of the construction of the Public Safety Training Center during an Atlanta City Council meeting on Monday, May 15, 2023. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

“Dr. [Martin Luther] King [Jr.] reminds us that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” Rogers said. “So what is the injustice here today? The injustice is that we continue to invest in a system and a culture of militarization and policing entrenched in injustice and oppression. … A system that murdered Tyre Nichols by police officers who received extensive training from right here in Atlanta.”

Officials have said the center is needed to replace substandard offerings and boost police morale beset by hiring and retention challenges in the wake of the protests against racial injustice following Floyd’s murder. No one spoke in favor of the center at the meeting.

At one point, police officers filed into the main chamber after Council President Doug Shipman tried to clear the room over so-called disruptive clapping and cheering, and attendees refused to leave.

They chanted “we will stay” and “vote them out.”

Shipman allowed public comment to continue.

The ordinance is now headed to the finance/executive committee for consideration. A final vote is scheduled for June 5.