Organizations are defending and helping bail arrested protesters out of jail after the group of activists attacked the site of a planned police training center in Atlanta on Sunday, some of whom threw Molotov cocktails at officers.
Of those arrested, only two were Georgia residents, while the majority came from 14 states across America, including Maine and Arizona, according to a list issued by Atlanta Police Department. The list also includes an individual from Canada and another from France.
The department said, “illegal actions of the agitators could have resulted in bodily harm.”
Supporters and organizers, however, pushed back the police’s account.
“The strategy of extreme collective punishment is designed to scare protesters into silence, but also to pit the movement against itself,” the organization said on March 6. “They want to get activists focused on condemning and policing each other so that the cops don’t have to.”
The organization said it would “never condemn the tactics of protesters who fight earnestly for their beliefs.”
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said the FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are assisting the probe.
Flashpoint
The planned training facility—which protesters have been targeting—is called the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. The complex is being established on 85 acres in DeKalb County that is owned by the city. The planned center would include classrooms, training areas, and an amphitheater. Officers will role-play real-life scenarios like high-speed chases and shoot-outs.Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens also acknowledged the need to train officers.
“This training needs space, and that’s exactly what this training center is going to offer.”
The center was approved by the city council back in June 2021. The facility is located inside 1,000 acres of wooded land that environmentalists want to be turned into a protected green space. Protestors allege that the facility is a threat to the environment as well as a sign of rising police militarization.
Violent demonstrations erupted in January after a police operation aimed at identifying trespassers ended up killing a protestor. The protestor, Manuel Teran, 26, was given “verbal commands” by the police. However, he “did not comply” and shot a patrol officer, according to officials from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
Other officers returned fire. As a result, Teran died on the scene. Rioters then charged through downtown Atlanta on Jan. 21, damaging buildings in the process. Activists have raised questions about the police version of the incident, also pointing to the lack of body camera footage.