By Tim Darnell, Atlanta News First
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A federal judge on Thursday ruled in favor of DeKalb County residents who were seeking to collect signatures for a referendum on the controversial Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.
According to the Stop Cop City Vote Coalition, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Howard Cohen’s ruling allows them and others living outside of metro Atlanta to begin collecting signatures for a referendum petition aimed at placing the center on a November ballot.
Last month, critics of the center filed a lawsuit against the city of Atlanta, claiming city leaders are “illegally stonewalling” the process to add a referendum to an upcoming ballot. Opponents said Atlanta voters should decide if the facility should be built.
That lawsuit effort came after the Atlanta city council approved $31 million in public funding for the facility. The city will also be responsible for roughly $36 million for a 30-year lease agreement with the Atlanta Police Foundation. Construction is set to begin next month and, according to the city, will have a soft opening December 2024.
Before a referendum can be added to a ballot, opponents will need signatures of 15% of the Atlanta electorate, roughly 70,000 people.
The facility will be on 85 acres of city-owned forest in DeKalb County which was once home to the old Atlanta prison farm. The Atlanta Police Foundation says firefighters and first responders will also use the site which will include a 12-acre emergency vehicle operations course and a mock city for real-world training.
Opponents of the facility worry about the militarization of police and what they claim is the destruction of one of the last green spaces in the area. Activists frequently occupied the site, living in tents and encampments in the forest.
Police cleared out the encampments multiple times. During one of the sweeps, protestor Manuel “Tortugita” Teran was killed during a shootout with Georgia State…
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