On Sept. 5, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr indicted 61 people with Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, charges after their multiple attempts to stop the building of a police and firefighter training facility in Dekalb County.
The Atlanta Public Safety Training Center is a project worth $90 million set to be built on 85 acres of land. The project is meant to provide current and new police officers and firefighters with more space for training. The Atlanta Police Foundation has helped fund it, along with the Atlanta City Council.
Matheson Sanchez, an assistant professor of criminal justice at GC, thinks law enforcement would benefit from improved and more convenient training facilities, but he is unsure if there is a “need” for it.
“I think it’s difficult to say whether there is a ‘need’ for something like Cop City right now,” Sanchez said. “Those questions are asked, and the subsequent decisions are reached, after careful deliberation among high-ranking personnel.”
Those being indicted have spent the past few years camping in the forest surrounding the construction site, setting Atlanta Police cars on fire and allegedly threatening the Atlanta Police Foundation and the politicians involved with the approval for construction of the training facility.
Cop City has been opposed by Atlanta residents and members of the Cop City Vote coalition since 2020, and the indictment claims the issues started around the time of George Floyd’s death and have only escalated since the killing of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán by a Georgia State Patrol officer earlier this year, making it harder for government officials to identify those involved.
The Cop City Vote coalition has also expressed concern for their neighborhoods and the use of specialized skills against the community.
“However, the nature of the Cop City facility seems to be what’s coming under fire here,” Sanchez said. “My understanding is that, among other things, it is proposed to be a specially formatted training area where personnel can sharpen tactical skills in an urban setting.”
Terán was a protester of Cop City, and in January, they were shot 57 times during a police raid of the designated construction site for the training facility. The cops claimed he did not comply when told to leave his tent as the police arrested protesters around him. Their death set a new fire under the protesters, causing them to escalate their response to the building of Cop City.
“The 61 defendants have conspired to prevent the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center by conducting, coordinating and organizing acts of violence, intimidation and property destruction,” Carr said.
Along with racketeering, some defendants face charges of domestic terrorism, attempted arson in the first degree and money laundering. Among those charged, Nadja Geier, Madeleine Feola, Emily Murphy, Francis Carroll and Ivan Ferguson have been accused of domestic terrorism after allegedly setting Atlanta Police cars, a bank and the 191 Peachtree Tower — where the Atlanta Police Foundation is “located” — on fire. These actions alone can earn someone a prison sentence anywhere from three years to life, depending on the severity of their actions.
The Cop City Vote coalition is worried that the facility could lead to the militarization of police and an increase in police brutality in the surrounding neighborhoods.
“I can say that it would undoubtedly increase police presence in the immediate surrounding areas, which might have the effect of making residents in those areas feel as though they are being disproportionately and unfairly surveilled,” Sanchez said. “The offshoot is that people are questioning whether we want police who are especially well-trained to breach and clear buildings that might resemble those in our neighborhoods, on our streets or even at our own home addresses.”
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution article titled “More than 60 Atlanta training center activists named in Rico indictment,” states protesters believe this case is an attempt to intimidate and show that anyone who wants to stop this “will be punished with the full power and violence of the government.” The charges these individuals face can lead to a five to 20-year sentence or a fine. If they are convicted of money laundering, the fine can be up to three times what the defendants may have received as payment.
Some students believe violence from either side should not happen and that they would peacefully protest.
“I think violence is never the answer, said sophomore Mary Ciucevich, an English major. “I would participate but not to that extreme. I feel like it’s a very complicated situation. I think there should be someone that should be there too, I guess, in a way, to protect everyone, but in some situations, I don’t feel they are necessary.”
The investigation is still ongoing, and the defendants await trial. The use of violence against the people of Georgia has caused officials to want better training for their officers. Still, it has also angered the people of Georgia and the Atlanta area, and it has pushed them to try to eliminate the police altogether in an effort to end the brutality they face.
