âCop City will never be builtâ: Opponents swarm Atlanta City Hall

Opponents of Atlanta’s planned public safety training center in DeKalb County, Georgia descended on City Hall Monday, signing up to speak against the controversial project at the city council meeting.

Hundreds of people wrapped around the building, down stairs and through the public entryway while more filed through security. Some jotted down things to say in notebooks while others made signs near the fountain.

“Cop City will never be built,” the crowd chanted.

While City Council members were honoring a local fraternity chapter, a middle school football team and other community members during proclamations, recognitions inside the chamber were accompanied by muffled yells outside the doors.

Opposition to the project has remained high and spread not only throughout the city and the state but across the country since the fatal police shooting of environmental activist Manuel “Tortuguita” Teran by Georgia State Patrol officers on the site in January.

The flood of public commenters comes amid a high-stakes budget season for the city, where council members will debate and vote on how dollars will be doled out to agencies for the next fiscal year.

Nearly 300 people had signed up for public comment by the time testimony began on Monday.

Atlanta City Council originally OK’d $30 million toward construction of the $90 million training center while the Atlanta Police Foundation — a powerful public safety nonprofit — agreed to raise the remainder.

During a lengthy interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in March, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said the Atlanta Police Foundation would be expected to raise additional funds if the project ran over budget.

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