Police remain at public safety training facility after fiery clash with protestors
Police say a music festival being held at the site as part of a week of action against the city-approved public safety training center turned chaotic when some protestors began throwing rocks and sticks at officers. A trooper told FOX 5 at least one threw a Molotov cocktail.
ATLANTA - Dozens of people have been detained after a violent clash between police and protesters at the site of Atlanta's future Public Safety Training Facility, nicknamed "Cop City by critics.
Sunday night, police say the DeKalb County construction site was on lockdown as crews worked to put out flames around the area.
In total, the Atlanta Police Department said 35 "agitators" have been detained. It is unknown what charges they will possibly face.
Police began making arrests. (FOX 5 Atlanta)
Officials say around 5:30 p.m. Sunday, dozens of protesters left the nearby South River Music Festival, changed into black clothing, and entered the site of the controversial proposed police training center.
"This was a very violent attack that occurred, this evening very violent attack," Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said near the scene.
Construction equipment set ablaze at future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center
Smoke and flames are billowing out at the site of Atlanta's future Public Safety Training Facility infamously called 'Cop City' by protestors. Troopers told FOX 5 a Molotov cocktail was thrown.
A video released by Atlanta Police shows what appears to be fireworks aimed at officers. In the same video, you can see items including rocks and Molotov cocktails being thrown by protestors in the direction of police, a tipped-over vehicle that later became engulfed in flames, and protestors attempting to set other pieces of construction equipment on fire.
Schierbaum called the incident a "coordinated, criminal attack against officers."
"Actions such as this will not be tolerated. When you attack law enforcement officers, when you damage equipment - you are breaking the law," Schierbaum said.
After receiving backup from numerous agencies, Atlanta police fanned out into the woods and detained at least 35 people. Their names and hometowns will be released Monday.
Late Sunday evening, Atlanta Police released the following statement:
With protestors vowing a "week of action" against the training site, police say they'll step up patrols to prevent what they call an escalation of violence.
"Criminal activity will not be tolerated in Atlanta nor tolerated in connection to this project," Schierbaum said.
No officers were injured in the confrontation. A handful of protestors were treated for minor injuries when officers say they used "non-lethal" force against the group.
What is the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center?
The proposed $90-million police and firefighter training center In addition to classrooms and administration buildings, the training center would include a shooting range, a driving course to practice chases, and a "burn building" for firefighters to work on putting out fires. A "mock village" featuring a fake home, convenience store, and nightclub would also be built for authorities to rehearse raids.
The 85-acre property is owned by the city of Atlanta but is located just outside the city limits in unincorporated DeKalb County, and includes a former state prison farm.
Police officials say the state-of-the-art campus would replace substandard offerings and boost police morale beset by hiring and retention struggles in the wake of violent protests against racial injustice after George Floyd’s death in 2020.
Opponents of the training center have been protesting since 2021 by building platforms in surrounding trees and camping out at the site. They say that the project, which would be built by the Atlanta Police Foundation, involves cutting down so many trees that it would be environmentally damaging. Many activists also oppose spending so much money on a police facility that would be surrounded by poor, majority-Black neighborhoods in a city with one of the nation’s highest degrees of wealth inequality.
FOX 5 put together a full timeline of the progression of protests over the past two years, including the trooper-involved shooting death of 26-year-old protestor Manuel Esteban Paez.
This story is breaking. Check back for updates.
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