DeKalb County district attorney withdraws from prosecution related to proposed ‘Cop City’ training center near Atlanta

Citing philosophical differences with other agencies, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced Friday that her office will no longer prosecute current cases connected to the proposed police fire and training facility near Atlanta, dubbed “Cop City” by opponents.

The office of Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, will prosecute the cases, according to statements from Boston and Carr.

Boston, a Democrat who was reelected in 2020, said her office had been part of a multijurisdictional group of law enforcement agencies working the cases, which have included domestic terrorism charges in some instances.

“Over the last several months, DA Boston and her team have been involved in ongoing discussions with their law enforcement partners about the evidence and charges in those cases,” the statement from the district attorney said. “Recent conversations between those agencies have revealed a fundamental difference in prosecutorial philosophy.”

The affected cases are domestic terrorism charges related to violent clashes that occurred near the site of the proposed facility and a related case where three people were arrested on money laundering and charity fraud charges in connection with the facility.

Boston previously recused the office from an investigation into the fatal shooting of a climate activist in January near the site of the proposed training facility. An independent prosecutor was appointed to that case, in which authorities said they returned fire when a state trooper was seriously wounded.

The planned facility on 85 acres of land owned by the city of Atlanta has been a point of contention since its conception for residents who feel there was little public input. Conservationists also worry it will carve out a chunk of much-needed forest land, and activists say it will militarize police forces and contribute to further instances of police brutality.

Carr’s office posted a statement to Twitter, saying, “While the District Attorney has decided to no longer assist in this case, our office is fully committed to moving forward with prosecution of those who have engaged in or supported violent acts surrounding the Public Safety Training Center.”

Boston said her office will handle future cases related to the training center.

Atlanta approves funding

Earlier this month, the Atlanta City Council voted to approve $31 million for the project over the objection of scores of angry protesters.

That money will cover about a third of the $90 million estimated construction costs, the city has said. The Atlanta Police Foundation, a multimillion-dollar non-profit that supports the Atlanta Police Department, has pledged the remaining money, which will come from philanthropic initiatives, a private loan and new market tax credits, the city said.

The training center is set to be built on forested land that used to be a prison farm. The land sits outside Atlanta city limits but is owned by the city, meaning residents who live near the site don’t have voting power for the leaders who approved it.

In 2021, the Atlanta City Council approved a ground lease agreement with the police foundation that called for 85 acres of the land to be turned into the training center, with another 265 acres maintained as green space, the city said at the time.

The center is expected to include a shooting range, a burn building and a mock city “for real world training,” according to the foundation’s website.

Leaders of the “Stop Cop City” movement – which covers a coalition of groups, activists and organizers – see the project as a response to the 2020 uprisings over the police killings of Black Americans and say the center will militarize police and promote violent policing tactics, especially on communities of color.

Activists have also pointed to the environmental impact of the facility. Over a dozen environmental organizations urged city leaders in 2021 to reject the training center’s development, saying it would be “devastating for the ecological community” and surrounding “historically marginalized” neighborhoods.

Supporters say the new facility will help boost police morale and recruitment efforts. The center will focus on “community-oriented” police and set a national standard for “neighborhood sensitivity and devotion to the civil rights of all citizens by law enforcement,” the Atlanta Police Foundation said, noting green spaces and other facilities will be open for public use.

CNN’s Steve Almasy, Christina Maxouris, Nick Valencia, Rebekah Riess, Jeremy Grisham and Dakin Andone contributed to this report.

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