ATLANTA — Protesters are once again voicing their concerns about the new Atlanta Police Department training facility in DeKalb County.
Channel 2′s Elizabeth Rawlins was at Woodruff Park, where protesters gathered after hitting the streets earlier Wednesday afternoon.
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There was a heavy police presence downtown as people held signs and passed out pamphlets.
Demonstrators have been in more than a year-long conflict with Georgia law enforcement agencies over the proposed police and fire training facility, which is set to be built in an urban forest on the south side of Atlanta and DeKalb County. Protests have recently gotten more violent after the death of a protester, who the GBI says shot and severely injured a Georgia State Patrol trooper earlier this year.
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Over the weekend, protesters threw fireworks and Molotov cocktails at police guarding the site and set construction vehicles on fire. Twenty-three people were arrested, most charged with domestic terrorism.
Opponents say the training facility will destroy one of the country’s largest urban forest and promote the militarization of police. Supporters insist it will provide officers the space they need to train and the tools they need to better engage with the co
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Pamphlets that protesters passed out on Wednesday urged Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens to cancel the lease and also called out companies they think are “disrespecting” the community.
“I think collectively, we need to all come together and come up with some sort of compromise,” supporter Shenna James said.
Eva Ramirez said her friend was one of the people arrested over the weekend.
“During that process, she was tased and arrested and she’s now being charged with domestic terrorism,” Ramirez said. “Right now, we are just trying to cover as much outreach as we can.”
On Tuesday, a judge denied bond for all but one of the protesters arrested over the weekend.
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