Cop City has opened, but our struggle for justice grows stronger

For months in summer 2023’s sweltering heat, the Cop City Referendum coalition worked tirelessly to halt the construction of a $106 million police training facility in Atlanta. With the help of volunteers canvassing every neighborhood of the city, we gathered more than 116,000 voter signatures for a referendum on the project. That’s nearly double the number required for a referendum and more than the number of people who voted in Atlanta's last mayoral election.  

Over a year ago, we delivered those signatures to the City of Atlanta. As of this writing, Mayor Andre Dicken’s administration has refused to count these signatures and plowed ahead with construction of Cop City as fast as possible. Since then, the administration has squandered taxpayer dollars and resources to avoid responding to the people's will through lawsuits that have been defeated and then appealed. Late last month, the city cut the ribbon on this facility that so many Atlanta residents opposed. 

The fact that Cop City was allowed to be built—over overwhelming public opposition, multiple legal challenges, and a massive referendum effort—is unconscionable. Our communities are asking for our elected officials to uphold a basic democratic principle: the right to vote on how their tax dollars are spent. Instead, our voices have been thwarted and ignored at every turn. 

The damage our Stop Cop City coalition warned about is already happening. The clear-cutting of the Weelaunee Forest, Atlanta's largest urban green space, has led to increased flooding in nearby communities that were already at risk. The area around the facility has become a militarized zone, with police cars constantly present, license plates recorded, and residents pulled over simply for driving nearby.  

The construction of this facility is a painful reminder of how the establishment often prevails over the will of the people. But our community is not going anywhere. We will continue to push for a vision of community safety beyond policing.  

Every week, our coalition continues to meet, bringing new leaders and energy to a movement that grows stronger despite setbacks. We're seeing more community members step forward, ready to challenge the lack of transparency and accountability in policing and policy decisions that affect their everyday lives.  

Building on this momentum, our coalition is committed to two key efforts: 

1. Demanding transparency and accountability from the City of Atlanta and the Atlanta Police Foundation. In 2023, the City Council passed a resolution requesting that the foundation add two council members to its board. The move would require the foundation to operate in accordance with sunshine laws and respond to open records requests. Unsurprisingly, the Atlanta Police Foundation has not taken action. Likewise, Mayor Dickens’ administration has repeatedly and intentionally denied the people of Atlanta their right to vote on the issue. Mayor Dickens has dropped the ball, and it’s time to let the people vote! 
2. Working to prevent similar facilities from being built elsewhere. With over 70 police training facilities now planned across the country, we're helping other communities learn from our experience in Atlanta. Starting on Jan. 18, our coalition is helping to coordinate a national week of action called "No Cop Nation, No Fascist State.” The date marks one year since the police killing of nonviolent protester Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, also known as Tortuguita, at the site. Solidarity actions will also take place in cities around the country.  

The construction of Cop City represents everything wrong with how decisions about community safety are made—without community input, without transparency, and without regard for environmental and social impacts. Yet our movement remains as determined as ever. We will keep building connections across the city and country, bringing new people into our efforts, and showing what's possible when communities come together. 

Over the long term, we're still pushing for Atlanta residents to have a real say in what community safety looks like. The opening of Cop City is a step in the opposite direction. But we're taking this setback and turning it into fuel for a broader movement—one that demands transparency from police foundations, challenges similar facilities across the country, and stands with communities directly impacted by militarized policing. 

I hope you join us in our ongoing work toward a safer, more just Atlanta that truly serves—and is shaped by—all its residents.