A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Tuesday, April 29, for the controversial Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.
The opening of the $118 million center on 85 acres of city-owned property in unincorporated southern DeKalb County came after years of protests, lawsuits, arrests, and the death of a protester.
Mayor Andre Dickens, Gov. Brian Kemp, and other state and local leaders were on hand for the ceremony.
The property, which is located between Constitution and Key roads in South River Forest, includes a 58,000 square-foot academic building, a 17,000 square-foot leadership building for public use, gymnasium, driving course, mock village for police training, a six-story burn building for firefighter training, a shooting range, and stables for the Atlanta Police Department’s mounted patrols and kennels for its K-9 unit.
While the training facility is open, fallout from its construction continues to play out in court.
The “Stop Cop City” campaign submitted more than 100,000 signed petitions to the City of Atlanta in 2023 to get a referendum on the ballot. The signatures remain uncounted and unverified by the city as a lawsuit, on hold for more than a year, continues in the U.S. Court of Appeals.
According to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the court asked lawyers for the city and opponents of the facility to write briefs on whether a referendum issue is now moot since the center is now open.
Money laundering charges against three activists involved in providing legal support and bail money for arrested Cop City protesters were dropped by the state last September. The state continues to pursue racketeering, domestic terrorism, and arson charges against the 61 indicted activists.
Atlanta Police and the GBI have tied Cop City activists to an ongoing series of arsons where construction equipment belonging to companies involved in the construction of the training center has been damaged or destroyed.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.