Dozens of people were arrested in Atlanta on Sunday evening after throwing bricks, rocks, fireworks and Molotov cocktails at officers near the site of a planned public safety training facility, police said.
Police drive past the planned site of a public safety training facility that opponents have nicknamed"Cop City" near Atlanta, Georgia, on Feb. 6, 2023.Dozens of people were arrested in Atlanta on Sunday evening after throwing bricks, rocks, fireworks and Molotov cocktails at officers near the site of aAfter attending an event near the site of the soon-to-be Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, a group of people changed into black clothing and entered the construction area at around 5:30 p.
m. ET. The "agitators" approached officers there and launched a "coordinated attack," according to the Atlanta Police Department. "This is not a protest," Atlanta Chief of Police Darin Schierbaum said at a press conference on Sunday night. "This is criminal activity." A banner is displayed along the South River Trail in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 4, 2023, near the site where a proposed public safety training center will be constructed.The officers "exercised restraint" and held their position until authorities from multiple law enforcement agencies responded and "used non-lethal enforcement" to detain at least 35 people, some of whom were not from the area, according to police. Additional arrests were being made, with information on the suspects and the charges against them expected to be released Monday. "We continue to see a number of individuals not from Atlanta, Georgia, that are present tonight undertaking criminal activities to destabilize the construction of a fire and police training center," Schierbaum told reporters. No officers were injured during the incident, though police noted that "the illegal actions of the agitators could have resulted in bodily harm." Some of those arrested sustained minor injuries. Several pieces of construction equipment at the site were destroyed by fire and vandalism during the attack, according to police. "This wasn't about a public safety training center," Schierbaum added. "This was about anarchy, and this was about the attempt to destabilize." People protest against the building of a public safety training facility during a Defend the Atlanta Forest march on the South River Trail in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 4, 2023.Police continue to investigate the incident. Both the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are also conducting a probe., known by its opponents as "Cop City," has been at the center of escalating demonstrations and confrontations since its proposal in 2021. The city-approved facility is being built on 85 acres of a 400-acre, city-owned property in unincorporated DeKalb County that is within the larger South River Forest, or "Weelaunee" as it's called by the land's indigenous people. The city has said the training center "will support high-quality, community-oriented training for police, fire and E-911 personnel," while the remaining 315 acres of the property will be preserved "as restored and improved green space for ecological protection and the public’s enjoyment as part of the larger South River Forest initiative." A makeshift memorial for slain environmental activist Manuel Esteban Paez Teran near Atlanta, Georgia, on Feb. 6, 2023.Those protesting the planned facility have said they lament the increasing militarization of law enforcement as well as the development of the forest. More demonstrations are expected to take place in the coming days. While calling for "peaceful" protests, the Atlanta Police Department said its officers, "in collaboration with law enforcement partners, have a multi-layered strategy that includes reaction and arrest."multiple law enforcement officers in the Jan. 18 fatal shooting of an environmental activist during a raid on protesters camped out in the forest. Several large protests have occurred in downtown Atlanta over the death of 26-year-old Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, prompting Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to declare a state of emergency on Jan. 26.
Please follow us on Google to support us United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
2 dead, 6 wounded in shooting at teen house party outside AtlantaTwo people were killed and at least six others injured at a house party attended by more than 100 teenagers Saturday night in a suburb outside Atlanta.
Read more »
Atlanta's future police training facility 'Cop City' set ablazeAtlanta, Georgia law enforcement officials responded to the future Atlanta Public Safety and Training facility where equipment was on fire and protestors were clashing with police.
Read more »
Wild Scenes Erupt at Future ‘Cop City’ Construction SiteChaos reigned at Atlanta’s “Cop City” Sunday as construction equipment was set ablaze, while protesters tossed rocks, sticks and even a molotov cocktail at responding officers.
Read more »
2 shot dead, 6 injured after gunfire erupts at massive Sweet 16 house party near AtlantaMore than 100 teens were at a Sweet 16 house party outside Atlanta when gunfire erupted Saturday night, leaving two dead and six injured.
Read more »
Atlanta protesters hurl bricks, Molotov cocktails at police at future ‘Cop City’ siteAtlanta’s $90 million “Cop City” was taken under siege by a group of vandals “using the cover of a peaceful protest” in what Atlanta Police called “a coordinated…
Read more »
35 Arrested After Protests At Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’Police alleged a group of protesters who breached the under-construction site attacked officers with “large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks.”
Read more »