Atlanta CNN –
One person was killed and a Georgia state trooper was injured in an accident near where a law enforcement training center will be built in Atlanta, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.
Activists previously clashed with law enforcement at the site of the planned $90 million, 85-acre town center to be built in a wooded area in a neighboring county. Opponents of the project – dubbed “Police City” by activists – have camped out in the forest for months in an attempt to stop construction.
On Wednesday morning, the GBI and several other law enforcement agencies conducted a “planned sweep operation” at the scene to remove people in the area and a person who allegedly “shot a Georgia State Patrol trooper without warning,” said GBI Director Mike Register at a news briefing.
“Law enforcement returned fire in self-defense and evacuated the soldier to a safe area.” The person who fired at law enforcement and shot the trooper was killed in the exchange of gunfire,” Register said.
In a later news release, the GBI said officers “found a man in a tent in the woods” around 9 a.m.
“Officers gave verbal commands to the man who did not comply and shot a Georgia State Patrol trooper. Other law enforcement officers returned fire, hitting the man. Law enforcement evacuated the Trooper to a safe area,” the updated statement said.
The man died on the spot, the release said. A handgun and shell casings were recovered from the scene, the GBI said.
Authorities have not released any information about the man who was killed, pending notification of next of kin.
The wounded trooper was out of surgery Wednesday afternoon and in stable condition in the intensive care unit, Georgia Department of Public Safety Commissioner Chris Wright said. The soldier was shot in the “abdominal area,” Wright added.
A movement opposing the planned training center disputed the GBI’s account that a protester fired at authorities and that the fatal shooting was in self-defense.
The Protect Atlanta Forest movement’s Twitter account said Wednesday that “the police killed a forest protector today, someone who loved the forest, someone who fought to protect the land and its inhabitants.”
CNN has reached out to the Defend the Forest movement for further comment.
Kay Diliza, a Gresham Park resident who is affiliated with Stop Cop City, a local movement opposed to the project, told CNN on Wednesday that reports from other members who were near the site contradicted the information. given by law enforcement about a protester shooting at them.
In a statement emailed to CNN, Stop Cop City said Wednesday’s law enforcement operation allegedly began “with numerous armed officers closing a public road and pointing guns at the park.”
“Community members have been demanding for months that the police stop brutal tactics against forest protectors. On Monday alone, over a hundred neighbors and organizers gathered at the DeKalb County Courthouse to demand an end to the police crackdown on the Stop the Police City movement,” the statement said.
In a statement on Twitter, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens — who was among the City Council members who voted in favor of the training center in 2021 — said his team and the city’s police department “are fully supportive of our partners across the state and county as they secure the DeKalb County site and investigate the incident.
“Our prayers for a speedy and full recovery are with this soldier,” the mayor said.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp also tweeted Wednesday that he and his family “are praying for this brave trooper and the public safety officers in all law enforcement agencies today.”
The GBI continues to investigate the shooting, and that investigation is “still active and ongoing,” Register said.
Four people were also taken into custody and “charges are likely to be filed,” Register added, but said authorities were still investigating whether those four were connected to the shooting.
On Wednesday, it was not the first time the authorities had clashed with protesters at the site.
Last month, five people were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism after police officers entered the site to remove barricades blocking entrances to the center, government officials said.
In May, eight protesters were arrested after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at police as authorities tried to remove them from the area, according to CNN affiliate WSB.
The Atlanta Police Foundation said the center was needed to help boost morale and recruitment efforts, and the previous facilities used by law enforcement were not up to standards.
The facility will include a shooting range, a model city and an incinerator building.
But the plan for the training center has met fierce opposition from a community still reeling from months of demonstrations against police brutality and racial injustice.
While some critics of the project see it as a response to the 2020 protests, city leaders said the center would also help with police reform, but did not provide further details.
At Wednesday’s press conference, Register said that amid national conversations about police reform, building a new center that will “train police officers to be effective in community engagement is a great thing for the community.”
Some residents also accused the city of blindside neighbors with what they say is a largely secretive development process with little community input. Taxpayers will cover about $30 million of the cost of the facility, with the rest coming from private philanthropic and corporate donations, city officials said.
Activists also raised concerns about the project’s environmental impact: The learning center would carve out some forested land and fragment what local advocates hope will become a network of connected green spaces in parts of Atlanta and DeKalb County.
Add Comment