Police and protesters clash near so-called ‘Cop City’ construction site

Police and protesters clashed on Monday near the construction site of the Atlanta Public Safety Training facility that has been dubbed “Cop City” via critics.

Protesters started marching towards the site this morning after a weekend of arrangements to “bring construction to a halt,” organizers say.

In a web based remark, DeKalb County police protesters “began an unpermitted march …blocking two of four lanes of traffic” at 10:30 a.m.

“We were part of the way there on a road when we encountered a large line of police. We tried to non-violently get past them, and they responded with violence,” stated Block Cop City spokesperson Jamie Peck.

DeKalb County officers say they knowledgeable protesters that they have been obstructing the street and would no longer be accredited to transport ahead.

“The protesters ignored the commands by DeKalb County Police & began to force their way through a line of 30 DeKalb County Police officers,” the police division stated in a remark.

Peck stated that protesters have been then overwhelmed, sprayed with pepper spray and that medics serving to others have been centered via police. Peck added that flashbang grenades have been extensively utilized towards the gang.

“They shot us with flashbang grenades, which are designed to terrify people as if they are in a war zone,” stated Peck.

Police showed that tear fuel canisters have been used to disperse the protesters.

No accidents had been reported and no arrests had been made as of midday, stated the dept.

One of the reviews held towards the brand new coaching middle is that it would result in larger police militarization.

Protesters argue as of late’s incident proves it, pointing to previous claims from the police division officers “claiming that the cops would protect peaceful protesters who were exercising their First Amendment right to protest and they showed us that is patently untrue,” stated Peck.

Construction of the 85-acre, $90 million facility is ongoing, and is ready to be finished via December 2024.

The middle will come with an “auditorium for police/fire and public use,” a “mock city for burn building training and urban police training,” an “Emergency Vehicle Operator Course for emergency vehicle driver training,” a Okay-9 unit kennel and coaching, in step with the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center’s web site.

The better motion towards the middle, known as Stop Cop City, has been ongoing for the closing two years, arguing that the middle will each militarize the police pressure and have an effect on the South River Forest.

Controversy across the middle escalated when a protester, Manuel Esteban Páez Terán, who used they/them pronouns, was once shot and killed via police as they raided the campground occupied via demonstrators in January. Officials say the protester fired the primary shot at a state trooper, and the officer replied with the deadly shot.

The Atlanta Police Foundation, a nonprofit that is supporting the middle’s construction, has stated the middle will advertise “first-rate training.”

“Policing and firefighting are continually evolving,” a remark on their web site reads. “In late 2024, Atlanta’s citizens will have law enforcement agencies whose cultural, operational and community training regimens will be the best in the nation.”