Leaders of a legal support organization for protesters against Atlanta’s public safety training center were arrested on fraud and money laundering charges on May 31 as Gov. Brian Kemp and other authorities painted the entire protest movement as a “criminal organization” of terrorists. Protesters called it an attack on free speech and planned a rally […]
Tag: public safety training center
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Georgia Tech emails about ‘Cop City’ post censorship read like an unfunny sitcom
Concern about the “inflammatory” use of the term “Cop City” was one reason behind Georgia Tech’s censorship last month of a student journalist’s first-person account of critical reporting on Atlanta’s controversial public safety training center, internal emails reveal. The emails read like a script for a sitcom about self-important bureaucrats and butt-covering bosses screwing up […]
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Lawsuit threatened over claims public safety training center work began without runoff-control ponds
A DeKalb County commissioner and an environmental group are threatening to sue over claims that site-clearing for Atlanta’s public safety training center began without required runoff-prevention ponds, causing nearby stream pollution. District 6 Commissioner Ted Terry and the South River Watershed Alliance (SRWA) made the claim – rooted in an alleged lack of sediment-capturing ponds […]
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Journalist files federal lawsuit over police interrogation at public safety training center site
A journalist who was detained and pressured to delete video by police at Atlanta’s public safety training center site has filed a federal lawsuit alleging civil rights violations that are part of a pattern of retaliation against free speech. The detention last year of Michael Watchulonis while covering the “Defend the Atlanta Forest” protests was […]
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U.S. agency quietly shuts down monitoring device key to training center pollution debate, sewage control
A stream sediment monitoring device that gathers data key to a pollution dispute about the Atlanta public safety training center’s permit was quietly shut down by a federal agency 10 days after an appeal filing in a move that may also affect a consent decree on sewage problems. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the […]
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City Council quietly changes training center committee’s membership and meetings
The Atlanta City Council has quietly approved legislation that appears to reform the membership and appointments of the public safety training center’s controversial advisory committee and allow it to meet much less frequently. Approved May 1 after three meetings where it had no discussion or explanation, the resolution’s immediate effect on the Community Stakeholder Advisory Committee (CSAC) is […]
Posted inColumns, John Ruch
DeKalb commissioner and petition call for reopening park shuttered in protest crackdown
A DeKalb County commissioner and an online petition are calling for the reopening of a public park shuttered in March to evict “Defend the Atlanta Forest” protesters – a move that could have deep legal and political consequences.
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Officials investigate training center pollution complaints as permit dispute heads to court
Facility planners say it is passing inspections and that protesters are to blame for one instance of damaged erosion controls.
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Training center task force to hold first public meeting next week amid transparency concerns
A new “task force” for Atlanta’s public safety training center, beset by a transparency controversy, will hold its first partially public meeting via Zoom next week.
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Georgia ACLU resigns from new training center task force, calls for project’s halt
The Georgia ACLU has resigned from the new task force about the controversial public safety training center and called for a halt of its construction.
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Georgia Tech’s removal of student journalist’s account of training center reporting raises free speech concern
Georgia Tech has removed from its website a student journalist’s first-person account of critical reporting on Atlanta’s controversial public safety training center, raising issues of free speech and academic freedom.
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Training center permit appeal is denied; may head to court
A DeKalb County board has shot down an appeal of the Atlanta public safety training center’s land disturbance permit (LDP) in a largely technical decision that could send the underlying pollution issue to court.
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King Center CEO calls for public safety training center to move
Rev. Bernice A. King is calling for Atlanta’s controversial public safety training center to be moved to a new location.
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Christmas gifts to training center committee ran afoul of ethics rules, City says
Christmas gifts given to the public safety training center’s advisory committee by the Atlanta Police Foundation ran afoul of ethics rules.
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Mayor names new training center/forest task force, but role and transparency remain unclear
The task force’s exact role, authority and transparency remain unclear, including to some groups with seats on it.
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Journalist to sue over police stop during training center protest coverage as free-speech complaints mount
A journalist who was detained and pressured to delete video by police at Atlanta’s public safety training center site is preparing to sue.
Posted inColumns, John Ruch
With so much unknown about training center plan, everyone’s a protester
With all the heat these days on who’s right and wrong about Atlanta’s public safety training center, it’s remarkable how little we know about what the plan actually is.
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Human rights, press freedom groups oppose training center protesters’ terrorism charges
Major human rights and press freedom groups have signed onto a letter calling for dismissal of domestic terrorism charges against protesters of Atlanta’s public safety training center.
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Training center maps suggest outside property used to meet green space requirements
Planners of Atlanta’s controversial public safety training center appear to be counting properties outside its legal boundaries to meet a lease-required amount of green space.
