Protests at a proposed police training center in Atlanta spiraled out of control Sunday night when nearly 150 rioters set fire to construction vehicles and threw rocks, sticks and even Molotov cocktails at police.
The site of Atlanta’s future public safety training facility — dubbed Cop City by those protesting its development — is now sealed off as crews work to put out smoke and flames.
Officials say at least one construction vehicle was set on fire during the protests Sunday evening and a video posted online shows a police surveillance tower on fire.
Police say the protest has since been contained, although many of the protesters dispersed back into the woods, where gunfire was heard, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
It remains unclear how many arrests have been made and whether anyone was injured in the blaze.
Protesters set fire to a police surveillance tower at the site of a planned police training facility in Atlanta
Police officers seen at the “Cop City” site in Atlanta detaining and arresting a person Sunday night
Sunday’s rioters wore black and camouflage and masked their faces as they made their way from their campsite in the Weelaunee Forest to the construction site, the New York Times reports.
There, they set fire to police and construction vehicles and set off fireworks while police were stationed nearby.
At least 30 people were detained, according to initial estimates, as activist groups begged online for money for the protesters’ bail.
The dramatic confrontation between police and protesters comes as individuals and activist organizations descend on the proposed site for a ‘week of action’ to protest its development.
“This is the first week of action since the state killed someone,” said Marlon Kautz, an organizer for the Atlanta Solidarity Fund. The protectorreferring to the police implicated killing of Manuel Paez Teran in January.
A private autopsy revealed that he had been shot 13 times.
Authorities have alleged that Teran — who identified as non-binary — opened fire on a Georgia State Patrol trooper during a “clearance operation” of the so-called Autonomous Zone at the site of the $90 million project.
“The whole character, mood and status of the battle has changed dramatically… [and] feels much more real — for us and for the state,” Kautz said.
The week of action would include a Friday night Jewish Shabbat service, herbal workshops, and a “know your rights” workshop.
When the fiery riot broke out on Sunday evening, a Weelaunee Music Festival was scheduled for the protesters who have descended on the forest in recent months.
Violent protests erupted in Atlanta, Georgia after the shooting of 26-year-old Manuel Esteban Paez Teran
The new site will include a fake city, which has been the cause of unrest and controversy for months
The large-scale construction will be used to train officers from the Atlanta Police Department and the Atlanta Fire and Rescue Department
Protesters, who have formed a group called the “Stop Cop City,” say Weelaunee Forest’s 381 acres is “stolen Muscogee land” and its creation would mean the destruction of wildlife and forestry.
They have become increasingly violent since they first moved into the woods last spring. Since December, 19 people have been arrested on domestic terrorism charges.
Six of those arrests stemmed from a violent riot in downtown Atlanta on Jan. 21 sparked by Teran’s death.
Rioters were seen at the time setting fire to a police car and destroying property. Explosives were also found at the scene.
The militant environmentalists say they are trying to protect the forest, as well as the South River, which is in danger.
Members of the South River Watershed Alliance have spent years preserving the area and say the training center can be built without destroying the environment.
Jacqueline Echols, the president of the board of the South River Watershed Alliance, said in a statement: ‘I remain steadfast in my belief that the desired training can be achieved without destroying the acreage on the prison farm.
“Balanced and equitable consideration must be given to the protection of the local ecosystem, the cultural and historical significance of the property, and the health and well-being of the residents of surrounding neighborhoods.”
Stop Cop City activists also say the city of Atlanta has “rented” the land — something the mayor’s office has denied, saying the city in unincorporated DeKalb County owns it.
Spread over 85 acres in the woods of DeKalb County, it is known as the Old Atlanta Prison Farm, where inmates worked in poor conditions in the 20th century.
Inmates helped make the facility self-sufficient in 1935, with the prison officially closing in 1995. It has since been abandoned.
Devastating fires also hit the property in 2009 and 2017 – illegal rubbish had been dumped and caused a massive blaze, meaning the site was closed off until plans for the training ground were approved.
Authorities say protesters, dressed all in black, threw rocks at a building that houses the Atlanta Police Foundation
The massive Atlanta Police Department construction project was announced in November 2021 and is expected to open in late 2023 after a difficult two-year process.
It will have extensive facilities and a mock city and fire station so that emergency services can better train their personnel.
It also includes:
- An Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC) for fire and police driver training;
- A training and education center with a modular design that enables education and training in classrooms, auditoriums and seminars;
- Academy housing for police, fire/rescue recruits;
- The Atlanta Police Leadership Institute;
- Indoor and outdoor shooting ranges;
- A fitness center for sworn officers;
- Stables and pastures home to horseback patrol;
- A kennel and an indoor/outdoor training center for dogs;
- Green space open to the public, with paths, soccer fields, picnic areas;
- Facilities for rent to law enforcement agencies and the public; And
- A community watch training program for our communities.
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