The City of Atlanta recently opted not to confirm a multitude of signatures gathered by protestors against the construction of a police and fire training center, known colloquially as “Cop City”. This decision unfolded after the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued
a judicial stay earlier this month. Activists, combined under the banner of the Vote to Stop Cop City Coalition, aimed for a citywide referendum to halt the training facility from operating.
To city officials’ surprise, around 116,000 petition signatures were delivered at Atlanta’s city hall. The city clerk’s office, while acknowledging receipt and promising to store the signatures, declined to initiate the verification process due to the aforementioned stay put in place by the Eleventh Circuit. This stay overturned a lower court’s ruling that allowed campaigners to collect signatures beyond the 60-day deadline that Georgia law mandates.
A representative of the coalition expressed discontent over the city’s handling of the situation. Citing the US Supreme Court precedent in Anderson v. Celebrezze and Burdick v. Takushi cases where restrictions on democratic processes were only constitutional if they served a legitimate government interest, this decision was deemed “just wrong”. The representative argued that the plea of being confined by the law was insincere and alleged that this obstacle was a ploy to restrict citizens from having a voice in government. They further stated their intention to contest the city’s decision in court.
The events follow soon after the indictment of 61 people under the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, connections being drawn with occasionally violent demonstrations against the training center. These protests have also led to confrontations with the police near the center’s construction site, resulting in arrests and controversial charges of domestic terrorism against some of the demonstrators by prosecutors.
Notably, ongoing protests also led to the unfortunate death of activist Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, known as Tortuguita, in a police raid on a protest encampment near the facility. During the confrontation, despite police claims that Terán shot at the officers, an independent autopsy arranged by the family found the activist’s hands raised.
The “Cop City” project, proposed to cost $90 million and occupy 85 acres, has been embroiled in controversy since the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, with concerns about the center’s location in an urban forest, the role of police in American society, and treatment of communities of color.
This piece is based on reporting from Jurist.