Atlanta ‘Cop City’: Arrests as protesters clash with police - BBC

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People protest against the construction of an Atlanta public safety training facility

By Tom Spender

BBC News

Protesters clashed with police in Atlanta at the site of a training centre which opponents say will fuel police militarisation and also uses valuable forest land.

Hundreds of people attended a concert at the site and police said a group then threw rocks and firebombs at officers.

Thirty-five people were arrested, police said.

Images of the protests on social media showed several fires.

The planned Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, dubbed "Cop City", is being built on land owned by the city in South River Forest.

After the clashes began, police locked down the area and a Swat team was in attendance.

Police said the group of protesters had used the peaceful demonstration as cover to "conduct a coordinated attack on construction equipment and police officers".

Several pieces of construction equipment were destroyed, the statement said.

"The illegal actions of the agitators could have resulted in bodily harm. Officers exercised restraint and used non-lethal enforcement to conduct arrests," it added.

Opponents say the site is a vital green space for the city and describe it as the "lungs of Atlanta".

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"We call on all people of good conscience to stand in solidarity with the movement to stop Cop City and defend the Weelaunee Forest," a statement on the Defend The Atlanta Forest website said.

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More protest events are planned for the days to come. Atlanta police say they have prepared a "multi-layered strategy that includes reaction and arrest".

In January there was a protest at the site after police killed a 26-year-old activist during a raid to clear the site. Demonstrators set fire to a police car and smashed windows.

Police say the activist fired first and injured a state trooper. Those opposing construction at the site have called for an independent investigation.

The 85-acre site (34 hectares) for the planned Atlanta Public Safety Training Center is designed to offer spaces for officers to practise shootouts and high-speed pursuits and for firefighters to practise battling blazes.