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The powerful, corporate-funded Atlanta Police Foundation (APF) plans to build a Public Safety Facility to train police in urban warfare. Critics of the facility dubbed it Cop City. They fear it will allow more killing of people of color, repress social justice movements, and APF will have too much influence in law enforcement and be unaccountable to the public.
The police that killed George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and hundreds of others were trained. The police don’t need more training. They need reform and accountability.
In many violent raids to frighten people away from the Stop Cop City movement, police have arrested 42 people and charged them with domestic terrorism, and killed one person. They raided the Teardown house to shut down the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, which provides bail and lawyers to people arrested while protesting. They arrested three well-known and respected mutual aid workers and Solidarity Fund organizers and charged them with money laundering and charity fraud.
If they can arrest mutual aid workers, who distribute free food to hundreds of food-insecure families weekly, no one is safe from arrest and false charges.
DECEMBER 13, 2022 -THE FIRST POLICE RAID
Early Tuesday morning, dozens of militarized Atlanta and DeKalb police raided Intrenchment Creek Park, now called Weelaunee People Park (WPP), to remove forest defenders living in tree houses. They were sprayed with tear gas and pepper balls and removed from the tree houses at gunpoint. Next, all the big mature trees with tree houses were cut down.
People camping in the park and neighbors walking their dogs were removed at gunpoint. All the camping equipment was slashed, and a makeshift kitchen was destroyed by police.
Five tree sitters were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism, aggravated assault, and criminal trespass and initially denied bond.
JANUARY 18, 2023 – THE SECOND POLICE RAID
Dave Wilkinson, CEO of the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF), wanted all the people out of the forest so APF could start bulldozing down the trees on the Old Prison Farm property.
To clear all forest defenders, a multi-agency militarized police force entered Weelaunee People’s Park to remove activists trying to protect the forest. The heavily armed militarized law enforcement units looked like an army on a military operation to remove enemy forces and recapture the land.
Some campers ran in fear, thinking they might be killed, leaving their tents and belongings behind to be slashed by police. Others were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism simply for camping in the forest and supporting Stop Cop City.
Manuel “Tortuguita” Teran, an indigenous, queer, binary, non-violent environmentalist, used the pronouns “they, their, and them.”
Teran was in their tent when the police arrived and refused to leave the tent and told the police to go away. Six Georgia State Patrol (GSP) officers responded by shooting several chemical balls into the tent, quickly followed by 57 deadly shots to Tortuguita’s body.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said Teran shot first and injured an officer. Other police in the area heard the shots and said, “They fucked up one of their own,” because they knew the sound of police bullets.
An independent autopsy by the family revealed Teran was sitting down with their hands up when they died. The autopsy said there was no gun power on Teran’s hands. This was the first environmentalist murdered in the United States.
MARCH 5, THE MUSIC FESTIVAL AND THE THIRD POLICE RAID
Forest Defenders sent out a call to action to take back the Weelaunee forest, and about a thousand people answered the call to come party and spend the weekend in the forest.
While everyone was singing and dancing, enjoying the music festival, dozens of unknown folks dressed in black from head to toe slipped over to Key Road, where all the bulldozers and equipment were located, set them on fire, and left. In an act of desperation and necessity, these brave young souls burnt the bulldozers to save the trees that protect us from the worst effects of climate change.
Not knowing who destroyed the equipment, the police ran to the music festival and started randomly arresting people. Witnesses said police tased concertgoers trying to leave, tackled people to the ground, threatened others with lethal force, and used tear gas on people.
At the end of the chaos, 22 people were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism. APF said charges were justified because the U.S. Department of Homeland Security categorized the Stop Cop City and Defend the Forest as domestic terrorists.
When contacted by a reporter, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said they do not classify people or organizations as domestic terrorists—the justification for charging these partygoers and activists as domestic terrorists was a lie.
Stanley Cohen, a New York lawyer, is challenging the constitutionality of the domestic terrorism statute used against forest defenders exercising their constitutionally protected rights to free speech.
On May 2, 2023, three supporters of Stop Cop City were arrested and charged with felonies in Bartow County for passing out flyers identifying the six Georgia State Patrol officers that shot Tortuguita 57 times. The officers are Bryland Myers, Jerry Parrish, Jonathan Salcedo, Mark Lamb, Ranoldo Kegel, and Royce Zeh. They have not been arrested or charged with Teran’s death.
In the first part of May, Michael Thurmond, CEO of DeKalb County, closed Weelaunee Park allegedly because it was too dangerous and posted police so no one could enter. The only danger in the park was the police. They wanted everyone out because they were bulldozing all the trees on 85 acres of the Old Prison Farm land and did not want people still camping in Weelaunee to interfere.
The forest is a pile of red dirt now. It was one of the four lungs of Atlanta, and those trees captured and stored carbon. Scientists tell us we are sliding into a global warming phase that we may not be able to return from for centuries. Climate Change is real and happening now. Trees can save us from climate change but can’t if someone kills them.
https://www.joboneforhumanity.org/
MAY 15, ATLANTA CITY COUNCIL HEARS PUBLIC COMMENTS
In the first Atlanta City Council (ACC) meeting to give Cop City 30 million dollars, 288 people signed up for public comment. Some people shared their two minutes to speak with others so that they could talk longer. All spoke in opposition to Cop City, which lasted nine hours. No one spoke for cop city. It was the largest turnout in the history of ACC and lasted nine hours.
The original ordinance initially stated that the taxpayer’s part of the project was $30 million, but now it is $67 million, and it may continue to skyrocket upward in years to come. Also confusing is the size of Cop City. Is it 85 acres, as the ordinance initially stated? However, APF claims 171 acres. Which is it? It appears the size and price of Cop City can change like the weather.
It should be clear to City Council members and Mayor Dickens that no one wants Cop City.
After public comments, the legislation will go to the Finance Committee before the final vote on June 5. About a hundred citizens attended the finance meeting and spoke out against Cop City, but the ordinance passed and was sent back to ACC for a final vote on June 5.
MAY 31, THE FOURTH POLICE RAID
Wednesday morning, a heavily armed Atlanta Police SWAT team and the GBI raided the Teardown house where the Atlanta Solidarity Fund is located, which provides bail and lawyers for activists arrested while protesting in social justice movements.
Marlon Kautz, Adele MacLean, and Savannah Patterson, organizers of the fund, were charged with money laundering and charity fraud. The arrests are an unprecedented attack on bail funds and legal support organizations.
This is the latest police attack and persecution of the Stop Cop City movement with little proof of their claims.
Judge John Altman said he was not impressed with the charges and said, “That bone does not have much meat on it.” All three bailed out at 15 thousand each.
All the police raids, arrests, and trumped-up charges were expected to stop the movement to Defend the Forest and Stop Cop City, but the opposite happened. The movement became more significant, more vital, and more diverse. The police thought cutting bail money would stop the movement, but the National Bail Fund kicked in and continued to bail people out.
They may have thought their latest raid would give cover for the Atlanta City Council members to vote yes on the money necessary to build Cop City.
JUNE 5, ATLANTA CITY COUNCIL VOTE ON COP CITY MONEY
Over a thousand people showed up for the final vote on Cop City. Not everyone could enter city hall, so hundreds stayed outside on the sidewalk chanting Stop Cop City. Almost 400 people signed up to speak. This was three times larger than the May 15 ACC meeting, the largest in history. Only a month later, that record was broken.
Citizens spoke against Cop City for 15 hours. One Black man said, “I cannot believe I am standing here, pleading with you not to spend the tax dollars of a Black city, to tear down a forest in a Black neighborhood, to increase the policing and caging of more Black people. All this in a city with Black leadership. It breaks my heart.”
Here is a link to all 15 hours of public comments.
After 15 hours of heart-wrenching, passionate, inspiring, and powerful testimony, the heartless city council voted 11 to 4 to approve $67 million for Cop City.
It now should be evident to everyone that ACC does not represent the people but the corporate-funded Atlanta Police Foundation. Witnesses said some city council members said they wanted to vote no but were afraid of the mayor, who is scared of unelected David Wilkenson, CEO of the Atlanta Police Foundation (AFP).
Activists claim APF will rent Cop City to police officers in other states and countries and use the money to donate to politicians who will be yes men and women for APF. The alliance of corporations, politicians, and police begins a fascist police state.
This is not democracy. This is not even about public safety. It is about the control and domination of populations, repression of social justice movements, and the criminalization of protest. It is about giving wealthy corporations and individuals all the power to use that power and money to their advantage.
The ordinance stated the public would pay $30 million, and the Atlanta Police Foundation would pay $60 million to build Cop City. Before the first brick is laid, it has already changed to taxpayers will pay $67 million. Who knows how high this will go?
That money would be better spent on community needs like affordable housing, healthcare, education, childcare, mental health programs, addiction clinics, job programs, raising teachers, and nurses’ salaries.
June 7 Stop Cop City filed for a citywide referendum vote on Cop City. There is still hope if the citizens of Atlanta vote NO on giving their tax dollars to Cop City.
written and photos by gloria tatum
An Addendum: A journalist was arrested at the music festival and has filed a federal lawsuit. Expect more lawsuits from citizens who were falsely arrested and charged with domestic terrorism.
Streets of Atlanta 
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