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Cop City

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Coordinates: 33°41′38″N 84°20′10″W / 33.69383°N 84.33606°W / 33.69383; -84.33606
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Atlanta Public Safety Training Center
Architect's drawing of the training campus
Map
Alternative namesCop City
General information
StatusCompleted
LocationSouth River Forest, DeKalb County, Georgia, U.S.
Coordinates33°41′38″N 84°20′10″W / 33.69383°N 84.33606°W / 33.69383; -84.33606
Cost$118 million[1]
OwnerAtlanta Police Foundation (majority investor)
LandlordCity of Atlanta
Grounds85 acres (34.4 ha)
Design and construction
EngineerTerracon
Website
www.atltrainingcenter.com
See More

The Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, commonly known as Cop City, is a police and fire department training campus in DeKalb County near Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Much of the land included in the plans was formerly part of the Old Atlanta Prison Farm, which was abandoned in 1995.

The project was proposed by the City of Atlanta in 2021, and met a multi-faceted movement opposing the construction of the training center. In January 2023, Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, a member of the Stop Cop City movement, was fatally shot by Atlanta police, drawing national and international attention and escalating conflict around the project.

Stop Cop City protestors arrested in late 2022 and early 2023 were charged with domestic terrorism; the appropriateness of these charges has been criticized by civil liberties advocates.[2] In September 2023, sixty-one people were indicted with racketeering under the state's RICO law, in what is likely the largest criminal conspiracy case ever filed against protestors in the US.[3] As of April 2025, the RICO defendants had not gone to trial.[3]

Description

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The facility occupies 85 acres owned by the City of Atlanta in the South River Forest, DeKalb County, Georgia.[4] The city promised the development would also include 265 acres of green-space,[5] though fact-checkers have found that the size of the promised green space was “oversold by at least 40%.”[6]

Construction of the center began in spring 2023. The $118 million[7] cost of the facility was shared by the Atlanta Police Foundation and the City of Atlanta, with the city paying $67 million for the project, though the originally promised taxpayer cost was $30 million.[8]

The center opened in April 2025 for use as a training campus for police and fire services. Facilities include classrooms, a burn building, a mock city (including apartments, a bar/nightclub, and a school), and a shooting range.[5]

Background

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Following Black Lives Matter protests in the US in 2014, funding for police training at all levels of government skyrocketed, and some cities proposed additional police training facilities. A similar facility was approved in New York City in 2015 following the police killing of Eric Garner, and also in Chicago following a string of police killings in that city between 2014 and 2016.[9]

Land use history

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The Muscogee peoples lived in the area of the South River Forest until the 1830s, when the United States federal government forcibly removed most of the community to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) during the Trail of Tears.[10] The name for this land in the Muscogee language was "Weelaunee," translatable as "brown water [place]."[11] The Muscogee people harvested from the forest for their needs, including acorn flour for food and hickory wood for toolmaking.[12]

Abandoned building on the site, 2013

The site was initially purchased in 1863 by the City of Atlanta for use as a cemetery during the American Civil War, but it was never used for that purpose.[13] In 1917, the federal government purchased the land to be used as a prisoner-of-war camp,[13]: i  and it was used as the Atlanta Prison Farm from 1920 until 1995.[13]

After it was vacated, the building was used to illegally dump tires, and was damaged by serious fires in 2009 and 2017.[13]

In 2023, the site consisted of mixed hardwood and softwood forest.[6]

Development history

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See also: Stop Cop City

In April 2021, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms proposed the project with a budget of $90 million. The project was approved by the city council in September of that year in spite of lengthy public comment opposing the project.[14]

Since 2021, numerous public gatherings, protests, and community events including skill shares, guided hikes, and musical performances were held at the site.[5][15][16]

Pre-construction clearing of the site began in May 2022.[17] A key event in the conflict around the development occurred in December 2022, when five protesters were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism—[18]the first time domestic terrorism charges were filed against environmental activists in the U.S.[14]

Killing of Tortugita

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Main article: Killing of Tortuguita

In January 2023, 26-year-old[5] protester Manuel Esteban Paez Terán was fatally shot by police.[19] Law enforcement accused Terán of firing at officers; this allegation is disputed by Terán's family and some cop city opponents. According to a lawyer working on behalf of Terán's mother, an independent autopsy revealed "Both Manuel's left and right hands show exit wounds in both palms. The autopsy further reveals that Manuel was most probably in a seated position, cross-legged when killed."[20]

The killing of Tortuguita brought national and international attention to the project and its opposition, strengthened existing anti-police sentiment in the US, and significantly escalated the conflict. A vigil for Tortuguita a few days after the shooting erupted in riots, and Governor Kemp called the National Guard to subdue the protests.[14]

March 2023 attack and domestic terrorism arrests

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On March 5, 2023, protesters attacked police officers with Molotov cocktails, fireworks, large rocks, and bricks and destroyed construction vehicles at the site.[4][21] Hours later, police raided a music festival being held about 0.75 miles (1.21 km) away and detained 35 people, alleging that vandals had hidden in the crowd.[22] Twenty-three people were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism, although arrest warrants did not present evidence of violence or property damage.[22] Of those arrested, only two were from the state of Georgia.[23][24] Only one person arrested was offered bond: a Southern Poverty Law Center lawyer who was present as an observer.[25]

By May, prosecutors had charged more than 40 protesters with domestic terrorism,[26] a move that Human Rights Watch called an "attempt to smear protesters as national security threats".[27]

Atlanta Solidarity Fund raid

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On May 31, a SWAT team arrested three organizers of the Atlanta Solidary Fund, a bail fund that had supported protesters with bail and legal defense. Those arrested were charged with money laundering and charity fraud.[28][29] That same month, developers finished clearing the site of all existing vegetation and debris in preparation for construction.[30]

Referendum

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On June 6, 2023, the Atlanta City Council approved $31 million in funding after more than 16 hours of in-person public comment from over 300 speakers, the vast majority of whom were opposed to the project.[31][26][32] More than 1,000 people signed up to speak,[33] but hundreds of people were not admitted to the building.[34] A minority of speakers supported the project, stating that opponents do not represent the people of Atlanta.[35]

In June 2023, a coalition of activist groups opposed to the construction project announced their plans to force a referendum that would cancel the city’s lease to the APF for Cop City.[36] The Georgia constitution allows residents to force a referendum on decisions by local governments if they can get 15% of registered voters to sign petition; in Atlanta, 60,000[26] to 70,000[37] signatures would be required. The city said cancellation of the lease would not be legal.[38]

In September 2023, organizers submitted 116,000 signatures for the referendum, but the City Council refused to count them, and said the activists had missed the deadline to turn in the signatures. That deadline had been extended by US District Judge Mark Cohen, but the city's appeal of that decision got held up for over a year[7] in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals,[38] and had not resolved as of April, 2025.[39]

RICO conspiracy indictment

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In September 2023, sixty-one people who had been arrested in the forest or at stop cop city protests were charged with racketeering  under Georgia’s RICO law.[40] This indictment is likely the largest criminal conspiracy case ever filed against protestors in the US.[41]

As of April 2025, the racketeering case was stalled. Defendants in the case maintained their innocence and reported difficulty getting work and other hardships while they awaited trial for more than 20 months.[41]

Opening

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In April 2025, city and state officials celebrated the grand opening of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.[42] For the first time, this center will facilitate local police officers and firefighters training together.[43]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ https://roughdraftatlanta.com/2025/04/29/atlanta-public-safety-training/
  2. ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/26/us/cop-city-domestic-terrorism.html
  3. ^ a b Saunders, Patrick (May 12, 2025). "Defendants in Georgia 'Cop City' case say they are in limbo as trial delays continue". WABE. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Atlanta 'Cop City': Arrests as protesters clash with police". BBC News. March 6, 2023. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Yancey-Bragg, N'dea. "What is 'Cop City?' Why activists are protesting police, fire department training center in Atlanta". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Ip, Alex (February 16, 2023). "Fact-checking the City of Atlanta's Claims on "Cop City"". The Xylom. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  7. ^ a b Kelley, Collin (April 29, 2025). "Ribbon cutting held for controversial public safety training center". Rough Draft Atlanta. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  8. ^ Edward, Roz (April 30, 2025). "Atlantans Continue to Protest Cop City and Vow to Fight Police Militarization". Atlanta Daily World. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  9. ^ Mahoney, Madeline Thigpen, Adam (March 6, 2023). "Violent Confrontations End Peaceful Stop Cop City Music Festival". Capital B News. Retrieved May 13, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "The New Fight Over an Old Forest in Atlanta". The New Yorker. August 3, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  11. ^ Magazine, Atlanta (January 20, 2023). ""The birds stopped singing": Inside the battle for Atlanta's South River Forest". Atlanta Magazine. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  12. ^ "Perspective: A Walk through Weelaunee Forest". www.thexylom.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d "Phase I Environmental Site Assessment" (Archived March 7, 2023, at the Wayback Machine), Terracon Consultants, April 22, 2021.
  14. ^ a b c Maxwell, Alannah (2024). ""Stop Cop City!": How collective framing transformed a local environmental protest into a national social justice movement.". Social & Political Review (PDF). Trinity College Dublin.
  15. ^ Crosbie, Jack (September 3, 2022). "The Battle for 'Cop City'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  16. ^ Collective, CrimethInc Ex-Workers (April 11, 2022). "CrimethInc. : The City in the Forest : Reinventing Resistance for an Age of Climate Crisis and Police Militarization". CrimethInc. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  17. ^ Public Safety Training Centre Update Archived March 7, 2023, at the Wayback Machine, Atlanta Police Foundation, 2022
  18. ^ Amy, Jeff (March 6, 2023). "23 charged with terrorism in Atlanta 'Cop City' protest". Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  19. ^ Stepansky, Joseph. "Officials charge 23 with 'terrorism' in Atlanta 'Cop City' march". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  20. ^ Radde, Kaitlyn (March 11, 2023). "Autopsy reveals anti-'Cop City' activist's hands were raised when shot and killed". NPR. Archived from the original on March 12, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  21. ^ Valencia, Rebekah Riess,Dakin Andone,Nick (March 6, 2023). "23 face domestic terrorism charges after arrests in 'Cop City' protests at planned police training site in Atlanta". CNN. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ a b "Muddy Clothes? 'Cop City' Activists Question Police Evidence". US News and World Report. March 2023.
  23. ^ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64842272
  24. ^ 23 charged with domestic terrorism after a violent night at Atlanta public safety training center site Archived March 6, 2023, at the Wayback Machine, WSB via Yahoo, March 6, 2023
  25. ^ Judge denied bond for all but 1 of 23 arrested for attack at planned police training facility Archived March 8, 2023, at the Wayback Machine, WSB via Yahoo, March 7, 2023
  26. ^ a b c Bethea, Charles (August 12, 2023). "Can "Cop City" Be Stopped at the Ballot Box?". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  27. ^ Pratt, Timothy (August 28, 2023). "'Threatened and vulnerable': Cop City activists labeled as terrorists pay high price". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  28. ^ Bethea, Charles (August 12, 2023). "Can "Cop City" Be Stopped at the Ballot Box?". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  29. ^ Pratt, Timothy (August 28, 2023). "'Threatened and vulnerable': Cop City activists labeled as terrorists pay high price". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  30. ^ "Here's a look at the construction site of the Atlanta public safety training center". 11Alive.com. May 26, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  31. ^ Keenan, Sean; Rojas, Rick (June 6, 2023). "Atlanta City Council Approves 'Cop City' Funding Despite Protests". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  32. ^ Wendling, Mike (June 6, 2023). "Atlanta 'Cop City': Money approved for controversial training centre". BBC News. Archived from the original on June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  33. ^ "1,000+ turn out, sign up for Atlanta City Council comment period on public safety training center issue". 11Alive.com. June 5, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  34. ^ Andrews, Amanda (June 5, 2023). "Hundreds speak against Atlanta police training facility during City Council public comment". Georgia Public Broadcasting. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  35. ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/06/us/atlanta-cop-city-funding-vote.html
  36. ^ "Atlanta organizers unveil plan to stop 'Cop City' at the ballot box". AP NEWS. June 7, 2023. Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  37. ^ "'Cop City' protesters collect enough signatures to put referendum on ballot". ABC News. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  38. ^ a b "Judge blames Atlanta officials for confusion over 'Stop Cop City' referendum campaign". Washington Post. September 13, 2023. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  39. ^ King, Christopher (April 29, 2025). "Protesters vow to fight on as Atlanta Public Safety Training Center opens". FOX 5 Atlanta. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  40. ^ "Atlanta 'Cop City': Dozens face racketeering charges for protests". BBC News. September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  41. ^ a b Saunders, Patrick (May 12, 2025). "Defendants in Georgia 'Cop City' case say they are in limbo as trial delays continue". WABE. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  42. ^ https://safe.menlosecurity.com/https://www.gpb.org/news/2025/04/29/georgia-today-cop-city-opens-in-atlanta-head-start-may-face-cuts-loeffler-event-in
  43. ^ https://safe.menlosecurity.com/https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/open-for-business-officials-to-cut-ribbon-on-atlantas-training-center/CVJW5MBI3JFFTC4JG3RZOTUGRY/
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