DeKalb County authorities responded Saturday morning to a dumpster fire at the construction site for the new Atlanta Police Department training facility and were greeted by a group of protesters who hurled rocks at firefighters and set off firecrackers, according to Atlanta and DeKalb police.
DeKalb police spokesman Lt. Shane Smith said no one was injured and police reported no arrests, but Key Road was closed Saturday afternoon. Smith said officers evacuated firefighters from the area. There were no immediate estimates of damage from the fire.
The incident is the latest in a long-running series of vandalism and conflicts between authorities and a coalition of left-wing protesters who oppose the construction of the $90 million police training center on the 300-acre site of the former Atlanta prison farm. The site in unincorporated DeKalb near Moreland Avenue is leased to the Atlanta Police Foundation, which is funding the construction of the proposed training facility.
Protesters have resisted the construction of the facility since it was announced in 2021, citing concerns over police violence against minority communities, climate concerns and the site’s historical connections to the Muscogee tribe. Activists have given the nickname of “Cop City” to the project, vowing it’ll never be built.
The James M. Cox Foundation, the charitable arm of Cox Enterprises which owns The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has contributed to the training center fundraising campaign. It is among several Atlanta-based foundations that have contributed.
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