The ongoing protests opposing a proposed police and fire training facility on forested land in southeast Atlanta turned violent Sunday night. Atlanta police said a group of agitators launched “a coordinated attack” on construction equipment and officers.
“They changed into black clothing and entered the construction area and began to throw large rocks, bricks, molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers,” the Atlanta Police Department said in a late-night statement.
Police said they “exercised restraint and used nonlethal enforcement” to detain 35 people.
Fox 5 Atlanta captured video of construction equipment burning out of control at the site, which has been branded “Cop City” by opponents.
An hour after the fire broke out, a helicopter hovered overhead. Sirens wailed in the distance and two firetrucks and a procession of military, SWAT and other official vehicles arrived on the scene. Police cars came and went, blue lights flashing.
Protests related to the proposed police training facility last erupted in Atlanta on Jan. 21. At the time, a police car was set on fire and windows were shattered in downtown buildings.
The violence then was in response to the fatal police shooting of Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, a 26-year-old social justice activist who was protesting the proposed $90 million Public Safety Training Center on heavily wooded land in DeKalb County, Ga. Police said the activist opened fire first, injuring a state trooper. Environmentalists have called for an independent investigation into the shooting as they continue to oppose the development.
Amid simmering tensions over the training facility, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) declared a state of emergency on Jan. 26 and called for the mobilization of 1,000 National Guard troops. Local media showed armored vehicles rumbling into downtown Atlanta and staging in the shadow of the Capitol.
This past Saturday marked the beginning of a week of planned actions aimed at stopping the training facility. The day was quiet, with a music festival capping the evening.
But Sunday saw a return of violence. A couple who lives next to the property said they are fed up.
“We have been upset about this training facility for years,” said Camille, a 51-year-old graphic designer and Atlanta resident, who spoke on the condition that her last name not be used for fear of police retaliation. She arrived on the scene while returning from dinner with her husband, Wayne. “I don’t know if I’m allowed home, to get to my house.”
Camille said she hears gunshots and explosions often, and helicopters hover over her home. “It feels like war in our house, and police won’t tell us anything,” she said.
“We feel ignored,” said Wayne, 48, an aircraft logistics manager. “We feel unheard.”
The couple opposes the training facility, favoring education and better hiring practices for police instead.
“People wonder why people feel they can’t trust or depend on the cops,” Wayne said. “It’s because you don’t know if they’re angry and have a predisposition toward violence.”
“We didn’t get to vote on the training facility,” Camille added. “When you don’t allow people to have a voice, then they’ll start talking any way you’ll listen.”
