Atlanta’s Cop City has become a controversial subject for activists and civil rights organizations within the city. Costing $90 million and taking up over 85 acres with a remaining 265-acre property as greenspace, the area is a mock city used for police and fire training. Phase one of the training center is scheduled to open later this year.
Critics of Cop City feel as if the training facility will further militarize the police and threaten the lives of marginalized communities. Meanwhile, a lawsuit was filed by the South River Watershed Alliance alleging that construction of Cop City has already contaminated local water streams.
One opponent of Cop City includes The King Center which is run by Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter Bernice King. King alongside other organizations are calling for Atlanta officials to allow for a public vote. Civil and human rights organizations from the ACLU and NAACP are also urging the Homeland Security Department to investigate the mass targeting and surveillance of Cop City protestors.
There was a campaign brought by organizers called Vote to Stop Cop City which looked to collect 70,000 signatures from Atlanta voters by August 14. Organizers have claimed to have collected around 80,000 signatures ( or 15% of registered Atlanta voters) so far to push the referendum on the upcoming election ballot in November. By August 21, the referendum campaign hopes to have 100,000 signatures.
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Link: Democracy Now
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