Hundreds of people gather in Atlanta's City Hall on Monday, June 5, 2023, to speak ahead of a council vote over whether to approve tens of millions in public funding for the construction of a proposed police and firefighter training center that activists decry as"Cop City." More than 350 had signed up to speak during the meeting, with hundreds more unable to sign up in time, including a large crowd prevented from entering City Hall due to capacity concerns.
“We’re here pleading our case to a government that has been unresponsive, if not hostile, to an unprecedented movement in our City Council’s history,” said Matthew Johnson, the executive director of Beloved Community Ministries, a local social justice nonprofit. “We’re here to stop environmental racism and the militarization of the police. ... We need to go back to meeting the basic needs rather than using police as the sole solution to all of our social problems.
Though more than 220 people spoke publicly against the training center, a small handful voiced support, saying they trusted Dickens’ judgment. U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock tweeted that bail funds held important roles during the civil rights movement and said that the images of the heavily armed police officers raiding the home where the activists lived “reinforce the very suspicions that help to animate the current conflict—namely, concerns Georgians have about over-policing, the quelling of dissent in a democracy, and the militarization of our police.
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'Cop City' vote: Atlanta City Council to vote on budget for projectThe Atlanta City Council will vote on allocating up to $31 million to 'support the continued construction of and improvements to' the controversial Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.
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Atlanta project decried as 'Cop City’ gets funding approval from City CouncilAtlanta City Council has approved funding for the construction of a proposed police and firefighter training center, rejecting the pleas of hundreds of activists who packed City Hall and spoke for hours in fierce opposition to the project they decry as “Cop City.” The vote is a significant victory for Mayor Andre Dickens, who has made the $90 million project a large part of his first term in office, despite significant pushback to the effort. For about 14 hours, residents again and again took to the podium to slam the project, saying it would be a gross misuse of public funds to build the huge facility in a large urban forest in a poor, majority-Black area.
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Atlanta project decried as 'Cop City’ gets funding approval from City CouncilAtlanta City Council has approved funding for the construction of a proposed police and firefighter training center, rejecting the pleas of hundreds of activists who packed City Hall and spoke for hours in fierce opposition to the project they decry as “Cop City.”
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Atlanta City Council OK's funds for police and firefighter training center critics call 'Cop City'The Atlanta City Council has approved funding for the construction of a proposed police and firefighter training center, known by activists who fiercely oppose the project as 'Cop City.'
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‘Stop Cop City’ activists pack Atlanta City Hall ahead of crucial voteHundreds of activists gathered to speak Monday at Atlanta’s City Hall ahead of a council vote over whether to approve tens of millions in public funding for the construction of a proposed police and firefighter training center that activists decry as “Cop City.”
Source: WashTimes - 🏆 235. / 63 Read more »