By Ashley Silver
Police1
ATLANTA — Investigators believe that anti-police training center activists are responsible for a recent break-in attempt at an Atlanta SWAT office.
The activists, whose group is named “Stop Cop City,” have openly condemned what they consider the encroachment of a “police state” on the environment after the Atlanta city council approved a proposal to lease forested land for the building of a state-of-the-art police training facility.
The group is suspected of vandalizing fencing surrounding an Atlanta SWAT office and accompanying buildings where police equipment is stored. The group cut tree limbs to break through the fencing. The office is part of the DeKalb County site where the Atlanta Police Department is planning to construct the expanded public safety training complex.
“This group that claims to want to protect trees cut down trees to use as weapons,” Michael Bond, a councilmember and member of the public safety panel, told FOX 5 Atlanta.
Although the trespassers vandalized the fence, they did not gain access inside the SWAT facility.
“This goes beyond protesting. The city needs a strong response,” Bond continued.
This isn’t the first incident attributed to the “Stop Cop City” movement.
Earlier this year, executive employees at Brasfield & Gorrie, the firm contracted to design and build the Atlanta police department’s new training facility, had several broken windows and graffiti painted on a window that said: “Drop Cop City or Else.” The company reported $80,000 in damages.
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