Arrests with clashes between demonstrators and police

Protesters have clashed with police in Atlanta over the site of a training facility that opponents say will fuel the militarization of police and also use valuable forest land.

Hundreds of people attended a concert at the site and police said a group threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at the officers.

According to the police, 35 people were arrested.

Video footage of the protests on social media showed several fires.

The Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, nicknamed Cobb City, is being built on city-owned land in the South River Forest.

After the clashes began, the police cordoned off the area and a rapid response team attended.

Police said the group of protesters used the peaceful protest as a cover to “launch a coordinated attack on construction machinery and the police”.

The statement said several pieces of construction equipment were destroyed.

The illegal actions of the instigators could have resulted in bodily injury. The officers exercised restraint and used non-lethal enforcement to make arrests.”

Opponents say the site represents a vital green space for the city and describe it as “the lungs of Atlanta”.

“We call on all people of good conscience to stand in solidarity with the movement to stop Cop City and defend Weelaunee Forest,” said a statement posted on the Defend The Atlanta Forest website.

More protest events are planned in the coming days. Atlanta police said they had prepared a “multi-tiered response and arrest strategy.”

In January, a protest was held at the site after a 26-year-old activist was killed by police during a raid to clear the site. The demonstrators set a police car on fire and smashed its windows.

According to the police, the activist initially shot and wounded a state trooper. Opponents of construction on the site have called for an independent investigation.

The 85-acre (34 ha) site of the future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center is designed to provide spaces for officers to practice high-speed shooting and chases, and firefighters to practice firefighting combat. Fires.