“The citizens of Atlanta should not be your pawn for politics,” he added. “We’re going to build a public safety training center. We’re gonna keep this city safe. Stop it.”
Atlanta fire crews and police SWAT teams were called at around 6 a.m. to remove the two people, identified as 23-year-old Parker Demos and 22-year-old Frederick Hetzel, from the crane at a Brasfield & Gorrie site at Edge Hill Avenue and Watkins Street. The location is just off Howell Mill Road.
A group of co-activists had already gathered in the street starting at around 4:30 a.m., and the demonstration prompted the closure of a few side streets, but Howell Mill Road remained open. Demos and Hetzel were cut free by 9:45 a.m.
Schierbaum said both were taken into custody, and they were assessing which charges to press.
Those opposed to the training center have said its construction will damage the South River Forest and contribute to what they believe is the militarization of the police department. City officials have said the facility, which is set to open later this year, is vital to maintaining well-trained police and fire departments.
“This morning at 144 feet off the ground, you saw the training and the dedication and the commitment of your first responders at work,” Schierbaum said. “Atlanta Fire and Rescue and the Atlanta Police Department using their training to get two individuals out of a very unsafe and dangerous situation, and they did it flawlessly.”
“Those skill sets were there because of training,” he added.
Protesters Wednesday and during the two previous demonstrations used a device that authorities call a “sleeping dragon” to lock their arms around the equipment. The device is made by placing an individual’s hands inside PVC pipes that are then bound together and wrapped in other materials to make it difficult for authorities to cut through and remove them from protest sites.
Activists in metro Atlanta and other major U.S. cities have targeted companies…
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