This story was reported by Canopy Atlanta, a community-powered journalism nonprofit. This story was informed by feedback from the South DeKalb community as part of the South DeKalb Issue, a series of stories about the neighborhood. The Georgia Department of Corrections has 34 state prisons across the state, which house nearly 47,000 felony offenders. Formerly incarcerated South […]
Criminal Justice
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
Now That ‘Cop City’ Is Being Built, What’s Next?
The Atlanta City Council approved using public funds to build a controversial new public safety training center — dubbed “Cop City” by opponents — following more than 14 hours of rebuke from hundreds of local residents who traveled to City Hall on Monday to oppose it. An Atlanta Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee report released in […]
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 inCriminal Justice, Environmental Justice, Policing, Public Safety
Key Dates and Moments in Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’ Controversy
The latest chapter in Atlanta’s yearslong public safety training center saga begins this week and tensions at City Hall couldn’t be much higher. The Atlanta City Council is scheduled to vote on legislation that would transfer millions of taxpayer dollars to the Atlanta Police Foundation to pay for construction of the training center that opponents […]
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 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
What Your Black Elected Leaders Are Saying About Atlanta’s Latest Mass Shooting
Several of Georgia’s Black lawmakers have called for stricter gun control measures in the wake of Atlanta’s latest mass shooting. On Wednesday around noon, the Atlanta Police Department received an emergency call from the 11th floor of Northside Medical Midtown that there was an active shooter present. After an hourslong pursuit that ended in Cobb […]
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 […]
