Atlanta City Council approves controversial public safety training center

After a 16-hour meeting that included emotional testimony from those trying to persuade them to say no, the funding for a controversial public safety training center has been approved by the Atlanta City Council. 

Jason Winston, Amir R. Farokhi, Byron Amos, Alex Wan, Howard Shook, Mary Norwood, Dustin R. Hills, Andrea L. Boone, Marci Collier Overstreet, Michael Julian Bond and Matt Westmoreland voted yes in favor of funding the facility.

Liliana Bakhtiari, Antonio Lewis, Jason Dozier, and Keisha Sean Waites voted no to funding the facility.

The facility, nicknamed Copy City, is expected to include a shooting range, a burn building, and a mock city. It has been a point of contention since its conception by residents who feel there was little public input, conservationists who worry it will carve out a chunk of much-needed forest land, and activists who say it will militarize police forces and contribute to further instances of police brutality.

Council Members listened to opponents of “Cop City” pleading for a different outcome as they argued that the facility will be used to commit further acts against Atlanta citizens’ civil rights. Some comments from opponents were emotional, others were laced with profanity, and some were inclusive of songs, but in the end, the council voted 11-4 shortly before dawn Tuesday in favor of the $67 million funding bill.

This vote ended a meeting that had begun early Monday afternoon with more than 300 residents having signed up to speak against the proposal. Speakers cited the arrests of three organizers who have bailed out other protesters as well as the January shooting death of activist Manuel Esteban Paez Teran by police during a “clearing operation” at the wooded area that is the site of the proposed training center. 

After the vote, opponents chanted “Cop City will never be built” throughout the atrium of city hall. 

Mayor Andre Dickens called the public funding approval a “major milestone.” In a statement, he said, “Atlanta will be a national model for police reform with the most progressive training and curriculum in the country.

This is not the end of the story as organizers announced a few days later that they filed for a referendum to put the question to voters in the election later this year. 

Kamau Franklin, an organizer and the founder of Community Movement Builders, announced it at a press conference at Atlanta City Hall Wednesday saying, “Today, we are here to let the people decide. The people need to have a voice in whether or not there is a Cop City. Every poll that we’ve taken, it has shown that a majority of Atlantans are against Cop City.”

The referendum must first receive legal approval and requires a petition with 70,000 signatures to be eligible for placement on the November ballot. 

In 2021, the City Council approved legislation that authorized a ground lease agreement with the Atlanta Police Foundation to build the training facility along Key Road. Since its approval, the project has been controversial leading to clashes between police and protesters at the future site.

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