After years of legal battles, protests, Atlanta opens Public Safety Training Center
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Mayor Andre Dickens speaks at Tuesday's ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center while Gov. Brian Kemp and police chief Darin Schierbaum listen. Photo: Courtesy of City of Atlanta
After years of protests, lawsuits, debate and violent clashes with police, the City of Atlanta cut the ribbon on its Public Safety Training Center in DeKalb County.
The big picture: The project, dubbed "Cop City" by opponents, became a flashpoint in the debate around policing following the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers.
- Supporters of the center said it was needed to ensure Atlanta officers, firefighters and EMS personnel could train closer to home and have access to technology and resources required for modern policing.
- Opponents argued the facility would exacerbate the militarization of police departments, which would disproportionately affect marginalized groups, and weaken the South River Forest, where it was to be built.
Driving the news: More than 1,000 people were on hand for Atlanta's ribbon-cutting of the $118 million project.
- Tuesday's event went off without any disruptions or protests, but organizers kept security tight. For instance, police and fire recruits were on hand to usher guests and media everywhere on the site, including restrooms.
What they're saying: Mayor Andre Dickens said "a number of factors made it more difficult than it should have been" to open the training center.
- Atlanta was able to power through "the lies, the misinformation, the disinformation, the very real violence" to give public safety personnel the training facility they deserve, Dickens said.
- He also said that if the city were breaking ground on the project today, construction costs would have exceeded $300 million.
Zoom in: The training center, which sits on 85 acres, features a simulation center, an academic center, a barn and stables for horses in the Atlanta Police Department Mounted Patrol Unit, a rescue tower, and space where officers and firefighters can practice driving large emergency vehicles.
- Fire chief Roderick Smith said the new training center will allow his department and the Atlanta Police Department to train together for the first time.
Yes, and: There's also a gift shop inside one of the buildings where visitors can buy Atlanta police and fire merchandise.
The intrigue: Police chief Darin Schierbaum said since Atlanta began construction, the agency's attrition rate has improved and they've seen a spike in new recruits.
- So much so, Schierbaum said, that they now intend to hold one new police recruit class every month for the next six months.
- "I will tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that the citizens of Atlanta expect when they call 911, someone's going to come, they're going to be there quick, and they're going to know what they do when they arrive," he said. "And the only way that happens is to train."
The other side: Opponents of the project, a collective called the People's Campaign to Stop Cop City, said in a statement Tuesday that the training center "may be built, but Atlantans' resistance remains as strong and determined as ever."
Training center timeline
The Atlanta City Council in June 2023 approved $30 million in funding for the project. The rest of the funding was from private donations via the Atlanta Police Foundation.
- The project was met with fierce opposition from local activists, some of whom over the years disrupted City Council meetings, city-sponsored events or engagements where Dickens was speaking with chants of "Stop Cop City."
- A legal case over activists' efforts to put the question of public funding to a vote via referendum has been languishing for more than a year.
As the legal process dragged on, skirmishes with law enforcement turned deadly.
- In December 2022, five activists were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism following a clash with police at the site.
- In January 2023, activist Manuel Paez "Tortuguita" Terán was shot and killed by state troopers during a law enforcement operation to clear an encampment set up by opponents at the site. One state trooper was shot during the encounter.
- In the weeks and months that followed Terán's killing, 35 people were detained after the site and officers guarding the property were hit with Molotov cocktails, bricks and rocks.
- A grand jury indicted 61 people on racketeering and domestic terrorism charges for their alleged roles in the movement to block the planned Public Safety Training Center.
- Three people were charged with money laundering and charity fraud, but all 15 of those charges were later dropped by prosecutors.
- One person was arrested for a series of fires that were set in opposition to the project.
- Law enforcement also clashed with dozens of protesters as they marched through a DeKalb County neighborhood chanting "Viva, viva Tortuguita!" and "Cop City will never be built."
- Terán's parents filed a civil rights lawsuit in December, alleging state troopers used excessive force during the incident, the AP reported.
What's next: Dickens said the city will embark on creating a master plan that will outline how the remaining 315 acres of the property could be developed for public use.
- Some of those ideas include installing a trail network, green space and playgrounds and potentially recognizing the site's history as a prison farm.