March 6 (UPI) —Atlanta Police detained 35 people Sunday in what the department described as a “coordinated attack” on the site where a proposed police training facility is being built.
Police said a group of “agitators” broke away from a peaceful protest to attack officers and equipment used to construct the new Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, dubbed by opponents as “Cop City.”
“They changed into black clothing, entered the construction area, and began throwing large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails and fireworks at police officers,” Atlanta Police said in a statement on Facebook.
“The agitators destroyed multiple pieces of construction equipment by fire and vandalism. Multiple law enforcement agencies deployed to the area and detained several people committing illegal activity.”
Atlanta police said the incident caused “bodily harm” to officers and they “used non-lethal enforcement to conduct arrests.”
It was not immediately clear what charges, if any, those detained would face.
The Atlanta Solidarity Fund, an organization that provides bail funds to protesters, claimed in a Twitter post that officers arrested attendees of a concert nearby who had nothing to do with the attack.
“Indiscriminate police violence tonight against Stop Cop City festival-goers,” the group wrote. “Police seem to be lashing out at anyone present at the music festival. Music is not a crime. Protest is not a crime. The first Amendment doesn’t go away when a single person sets a fire.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp condemned the protesters in a statement on Monday morning.
“Yesterday evening, violent activists attacked the future site of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, putting those in the surrounding community at risk,” Kemp wrote. “They chose destruction and vandalism over legitimate protest, yet again demonstrating the radical intent behind their actions.”
The incident on Sunday came as protesters have called for a “week of action” against the training site, prompting police to increase patrols in the area.
“Criminal activity will not be tolerated in Atlanta nor tolerated in connection to this project,” Atlanta Police Chief Darin Scheirbaum said.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens voted in favor of the planned $90 million, 85-acre law enforcement training facility in 2021. A 26-year-old activist was shot dead by police near the site of the training center on Wednesday after he shot a state trooper.
