Georgia’s leading voting rights groups say Atlanta officials’ plan to verify petition signatures gathered by opponents of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center contradicts the city’s legacy as “the cradle of the modern civil rights movement.” The petition forms will be reviewed manually, line-by-line, in a process overseen by the municipal clerk’s office. In order […]
Cop City
Posted inNews
Atlanta Has a New NAACP President. These Are His Top Priorities.
Securing justice for police brutality victims is among the top priorities for Atlanta’s next NAACP chapter president, attorney Gerald Griggs, who announced his ascension to the role on Twitter on Wednesday morning. Griggs, 45, took over a day after the chapter’s former leader, Richard Rose, announced he was stepping down. As the chapter’s first vice […]
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 […]
Posted inCity Politics
Will Council Members Who Voted to Fund ‘Cop City’ Lose Black Support?
Controversy over the Atlanta City Council’s decision to fund construction for the divisive public safety training center — nicknamed “Cop City” by critics — continues this week as activists in opposition prepare for an entrenched political battle. Stop Cop City organizers launched their week of action over the weekend, with events planned through July 1. […]
Posted inNews
Will Government Pressure on ‘Cop City’ Protesters Affect Future Movements?
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 […]
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
Council’s Vote on ‘Cop City’ Unlikely to Change Despite $67 Million Cost to Taxpayers
Building “Cop City” might cost taxpayers more than double what Atlanta government leaders have been telling the public. But the revelation about the public safety training center’s price tag doesn’t seem to be changing lawmakers’ stances on the project. Atlanta City Council members are scheduled to vote Monday on whether to greenlight $67 million to […]
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 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 […]