November 14, 2023
Atlanta’s “Stop Cop City” Movement Is Youth-Led Democracy in Action
By Peter Lucas
“When we can’t trust our leaders, regardless of political party, to exercise their power for our betterment, we the people have the power to do something about it.”
(Andrew Lichtenstein / Getty)
In July, the Georgia State University Student Government Association passed a resolution opposing Atlanta’s proposed “Public Safety Training Center”—also known as Cop City—to be constructed on 85-acres of land outside of city limits.
“The construction of Cop City in Atlanta, a militarized police training facility also known as the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, has raised significant concerns among the student body,” the resolution read. “The Student Government Association publicly denounces the construction of Atlanta’s cop city as it threatens civil liberties, exacerbates systemic biases, and will directly impact the lives of the Students this body represents.”
The $90 million training center would feature “a lab to develop and test technological innovations” and “a mock streetscape to simulate real-world crisis situations faced by law enforcement officers” with “a focus on tactical training,” according to the Atlanta Police Foundation website. Opponents of the facility cite the risk of increased police militarization. “I do share the concern of the citizens of Atlanta,” Arthur Rizer, a former police officer and a scholar of policing, told The New York Times, “that the apparent focus is going to be a paramilitary-type training, urban assault tactics, which quite frankly have not been effective at reducing crime.”
