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 […]
Cop City
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Meet Some of the Black Voices on Dickens’ ‘Cop City’ Community Task Force
English Park resident Donna Stephens is one of 40 people who accepted Mayor Andre Dickens’ invitation to sit on the South River Forest and Public Safety Training Facility task force. Stephens accepted the invitation in large part because she is concerned about the environmental implications tied to the training center known as “Cop City.” Stephens […]
Posted inCity Politics
What Did Mayor Andre Dickens Say? Read Our State of the City Breakdown.
In case you missed it, Mayor Andre Dickens delivered his second State of the City address on Tuesday. Dickens spoke for just over half an hour, touching on everything from youth engagement programs and affordable housing to reiterating his support for the public safety training facility known as “Cop City.” “Today, I can tell you […]
Posted inCity Politics
We Asked All 16 Members of the Atlanta City Council About ‘Cop City.’ Two Responded.
Land clearing is underway in the South River Forest where Atlanta is set to build its new public safety training center, nicknamed “Cop City.” As the community continues to debate the need for the facility, Atlanta City Council members have remained tight-lipped on the issue. Back on Sept. 8, 2021, the council voted 10-4 in […]
Posted inHealth
The Health Risks Behind ‘Cop City’
Celeste Lomax has been working at Urban Food Forest at Browns Mill in southeast Atlanta for six years. This time of year, the trees and bushes are still dormant and leafless, but the soil underneath is rich and moist — as Lomax, the site’s food steward, reveals as she digs up an elderberry tree pup. […]
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, Policing
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, Policing
Tale of the Tape: An Expert Weighs In on the ‘Cop City’ Bodycam Footage
Newly released body camera footage from a deadly encounter at “Cop City” has left locals with more questions than answers. Last week, speculation around the events that led to the Jan. 18 shooting in South River Forest has grown since the Atlanta Police Department released videos from officers in the vicinity of where environmental activist […]
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, Policing
Kemp Declares State of Emergency Over Stop ‘Cop City’ Movement
Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency Thursday as tension between police and ‘Cop City’ protesters has brought international attention to Atlanta. Kemp has ordered 1,000 Georgia National Guard troops to be ready to intervene after Saturday’s vigil turned into a protest where some activists “threw rocks, launched fireworks, and burned a police vehicle […]