Keeping with their promise to use all avenues available to them, the Cop City Vote Coalition — part of the larger Stop Cop City Movement — has successfully filed a petition to hold a referendum on the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, aka “Cop City.” Filed June 14, the petition was approved by the municipal […]
Madeline Thigpen
Madeline Thigpen is Capital B Atlanta's criminal justice reporter.
Posted inPolicing
‘Let the People Decide’: Organizers Want a Referendum on ‘Cop City’
A citywide referendum is the next step for organizers in Atlanta who are determined to prevent the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center known as “Cop City” in the South River Forest. Activists who’ve spent the last two years organizing against the project turned their attention to the referendum after Atlanta City Council […]
Posted inCity Politics, Policing, Public Safety, Uncategorized
Atlanta Leaders Just Voted to Approve ‘Cop City’ Funding
The Atlanta City Council voted early Tuesday morning to approve legislation to move forward with funding for a new public safety training center known as “Cop City.” The 11-4 vote came after more than 14 hours of public comment that stretched overnight — mostly from people in opposition. Less than two weeks earlier, Atlanta government […]
Posted inCity Politics
‘Cop City’ Could Cost Atlanta Taxpayers $67 Million
The legislation to fund the controversial public safety training center known as “Cop City” is moving forward despite reports alleging it will cost Atlanta taxpayers twice what the mayor’s office has told the public. City officials have previously said that the Atlanta Police Foundation would cover about two-thirds of the facility’s $90 million price tag, […]
Posted inIncarceration
What Killed Lashawn Thompson?
On Monday, Karo Thompson stood on the steps of the Georgia State Capitol speaking about his nephew, who died while incarcerated at Fulton County Jail. “Every person that was put in office, raised their right hand, they swore an oath to uphold their duties and responsibility,” he said, at the family’s press conference revealing the […]
Posted inCity Politics
What We Learned From Atlanta Police’s Proposed Budget Presentation
This week, the leader of the Atlanta Police Department stated his case for their proposed $247 million budget. Chief Darin Schierbaum presented the department’s top priorities for the upcoming fiscal year, with personnel representing $202 million of the tab. Overall, the department is asking for an $11.7 million increase from the current year. “The number […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Georgia Victims of Police Brutality Tell the U.N. Their Story
Four years after an Atlanta police officer killed 21-year-old Jimmy Atchison, his father spoke in front of a United Nations delegation to the U.S. about their family’s continued fight for justice. “We knew from day one, the shooting of my son was not justified and should never have happened,” Atchison’s father, Jimmy Hill, told the […]
Posted inPublic Safety
As a Mass Shooting Unfolded in Atlanta, Some Of Us Got Text Alerts. Did You?
A mass shooting in Midtown on Wednesday afternoon left some residents confused about what was going on and what to do. Others received alerts on their phones and emails with warnings in real time. “Active shooter incident in Midtown — Shelter in place! Please avoid the area surrounding West Peachtree St., 14th St., 12th St., […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Higher Education, Policing
Why Atlanta College Students and Professors are Chanting, ‘Stop Cop City’
At a rally on Emory University’s quad earlier this week, Maresah Malcom, a senior from Decatur, joined just over 100 fellow students in protesting the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known as “Cop City.” Malcom said she came to the Stop Cop City demonstration because the facility is being built in the area where […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
How the Stop Cop City Movement Inspired Angela Davis
Add Angela Davis to the list of civil rights activists protesting the construction of a new law enforcement training facility in South River Forest known as “Cop City.” On March 24, while delivering the keynote address at the 20th Annual Walter Rodney Symposium at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College, Davis […]