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 […]
Public Safety
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 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, Public Safety
Can An Old Public Safety Campaign Curb Youth Violence in Atlanta?
Last month, the Atlanta City Council channeled a past public safety campaign to address present crime issues. Adopted by the council on March 20, the resolution calls for community organizations and media to bring back the popular public safety campaign “It’s 9 p.m., do you know where your children are?” The PSAs, a brief announcement […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Public Safety
In a Crisis? 911 Isn’t Always the Answer in Metro Atlanta
In an emergency situation, it may feel like calling 911 is your only option. However, decades of mistreatment by law enforcement have left many in Black communities feeling like they have no one to call in a crisis. A Washington Post database that tracks fatal shootings by an on-duty police officer shows that 21% of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing, Public Safety
Yes, Black People Are Protesting Cop City, Too
For months, politicians including Mayor Andre Dickens and Gov. Brian Kemp have characterized the Stop Cop City movement as being composed of outside “agitators” coming to cause trouble in Atlanta. The 85-acre public safety training facility is set to be built in the South River Forest in south DeKalb County. Surrounded by majority Black neighborhoods, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Public Safety
Who Is ‘Cop City’ For? Residents Living Near the Site Aren’t So Sure.
Jacqueline Crew is a longtime resident of south DeKalb County who says she had not heard of “Cop City” until the deadly standoff that killed environmental activist Manuel “Tortuguita” Paez Terán, and left a Georgia state trooper wounded. “I knew nothing about it. I have not heard nothing from the commissioners. I haven’t heard any […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Public Safety
Community Members Turn to Council to Address Youth Violence
Capital B Atlanta will host a discussion on Wednesday, Dec. 14, on the future of Atlanta’s police department and improving public safety in Black communities. Join us at Wild Heaven Brewery, 1010 White St., in Atlanta. Concerned parents and community members who gathered at an Atlanta public safety meeting Tuesday night called for more after-school […]