ATLANTA — Law enforcement agencies spoke out Sunday night following a night of violence near the proposed site of the Atlanta public safety training facility.
Officials said the night began peacefully at a music festival in the wooded area of Constitution Road that was hosted by the protest group “Stop Cop City.”
Around 5:30 p.m., APD said a large group of individuals branched off and began protesting on the other side of the wooded area near the construction site of the training facility.
Officers with APD, Georgia State Patrol, Sandy Springs Police Department, DeKalb County Police Department and Fulton County Sheriff’s Office were all called to service when the group began throwing fireworks and Molotov cocktails at officers and construction equipment.
“This is not a protest,” APD officials said at a press conference Sunday night. “This wasn’t about a public training center; this was about anarchy.”
Gov. Brian Kemp tweeted out a statement Monday morning.
Below is my statement on last night's events at the site of the future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. pic.twitter.com/98ns05xslF
— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) March 6, 2023
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APD said 35 agitators had been detained so far. Officials plan to release their names and charges Monday.
During the press conference, officials said that many of the individuals detained were not from Atlanta, but were from other parts of the country.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation continue the investigation. Authorities said no officers suffered any injuries from the attack.
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Defend the Atlanta Forest sent a statement Sunday night that said in part.
“Cop City will never be a legitimate project. It continues to be widely opposed by Atlantans. The civil rights violations committed by police today reaffirms that this cop training facility should never be built. We stand steadfast in our conviction to build a new world in which all people are safe from police terror.”
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