Posted inCop City, Criminal Justice

Environmental Impact Targeted in New Push Against ‘Cop City’

Opponents of the developing Atlanta Public Safety Training Center have adopted a new strategy to stop the so-called “Cop City” from being built. Activists filed a complaint with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of External Civil Rights Compliance last week, arguing that the 85-acre site in unincorporated southern DeKalb County is damaging the ecosystem in […]

Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing

‘Release the tape!’ Johnny Hollman’s Relatives Bring Emotional Pleas to City Council

The Atlanta City Council on Monday called for police to release body camera video of Johnny Hollman’s fatal encounter with an officer, responding to nearly two months of passionate pleas from the 62-year-old church deacon’s relatives.  The council members unanimously approved a resolution urging Mayor Andre Dickens and the Atlanta Police Department to release the […]

Posted inCop City

Lawmaker Nixes Plan to Introduce ‘Cop City’ Measure After City Attorney Input

The latest effort to let Atlanta voters weigh in on the public safety training center, dubbed “Cop City” by critics, via a ballot referendum was upended by municipal attorneys Monday afternoon, according to a lawmaker. Post 3 At-Large Atlanta City Council member Keisha Sean Waites said she and fellow lawmaker Liliana Bakhtiari had planned to […]

Posted inPublic Safety

CSX Officials Offer Limited Solutions to Idling Trains in Hunter Hills

Idling trains that block streets and walkways in Atlanta’s Hunter Hills neighborhood for several hours are “inexcusable,” railroad officials from CSX Transportation told residents in a community meeting Wednesday night. But shorter blockages that have obstructed motorists, school children, and emergency vehicles may be unavoidable right now, they said. The railroad officials said government intervention […]

Posted inCop City

Mayor’s Task Force Proposes Community-Centric Changes for Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’

A task force assembled by Mayor Andre Dickens has announced its recommendations to make the controversial public safety training center known as “Cop City” more “community-oriented.”  The group proposes involving community members in developing anti-bias courses and other police training curriculum that acknowledge the “difficult history” of policing in Atlanta. “[The task force subgroups] all […]

Posted inPublic Safety

Atlanta’s ‘Broken Promises’: $67M for Cop City, Violence Prevention Left Behind

This story was published in partnership with The Trace. In December 2021, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms sent a news release announcing the formation of the city’s first-ever Office of Violence Reduction. The office was to be charged with coordinating efforts between community-led violence intervention programs and dispersing some $5 million in grants to organizations […]