Protesters gathered at Atlantas City Hall ahead of a vote Monday on whether to allocate an additional $30 million to the controversial Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, dubbed “Cop City” by critics.
Hundreds of speakers signed up to comment ahead of the Atlanta City Council vote on whether to amend the 2023 budget to transfer an additional $30 million to the training center, which was originally priced at around $90 million.
A video shared by Carl Charles shows protesters outside city hall on Monday, chanting, “stop Cop City.”
The training facility will cover about 85 acres of Atlantas South River Forest, including a mock city for training.
The plan is opposed by a combination of climate activists seeking to protect Atlantas forest and civil rights activists alarmed at the prospect of military-style urban warfare training for domestic police forces.
Protests at the site have been ongoing for months. On Jan. 18, Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, a protester who went by the name Tortuguita, was fatally shot by law enforcement.
Authorities said Tortuguita shot a state trooper first, but according to a later autopsy, Tortuguita did not have gunshot residue on their hands.
Dozens of protesters have been arrested, including three leaders of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, which raises bail funds for jailed protesters and helps them find lawyers. They were charged with money laundering and charity fraud.
