ATLANTA, GA - City officials in the city of Atlanta are now refusing to process thousands of signatures on a petition that would stop the construction of a police training center just outside the city. According to a report from American Greatness, a far-left activist group submitted the petition on Monday.
The group claims the petition has been signed 116,000 times by Atlanta area residents. However, it seems the activist group missed the filing deadline, according to recent court motions. Documents show that the city of Atlanta has been forbidden to go through the official verification process, as the activist group missed the original August 21st filing deadline.
The case was pushed up to the federal level and a federal judge extended the deadline to September, but that ruling was then appealed, and the deadline extension was halted on September 1.
The mayor of Atlanta, Andre Dickens, and city workers are firmly in the cross hairs of the far-left group that initiated the petition.
Vote to Stop Cop City Coalition, the anti-police group who attempted to stop construction of the training center, issued the following statement after the ruling, "This is yet another disgraceful push by the city to stonewall democracy, showing that the mayor and the city of Atlanta fear the power of their constituents. The city was notified on Thursday of our intentions to submit, yet was too cowardly to release any response, or even respond to our email, until after we arrived."
The mayor of Atlanta has yet to offer comment, but a city attorney did release a statement, saying, "The city is not in position, does not have discretion, to choose to accept the petitions today, at least not to start the 50-day verification clock," said city attorney Robert Ashe.
The controversy is in response to the new construction of the newly dubbed "Atlanta Public Safety Training Center." Far left activists, and ANTIFA members have renamed the training center "Cop City," and the site has been the stage for controversy since construction began.
Construction of the training center has been mostly funded by the Atlanta Police Association. Police leadership has argued for years that recruitment and morale is low in the city and the construction of the facility will boost morale and give recruitment a bump.
Protesters from groups like Antifa and Black Lives Matter have argued that the construction of the training center could have a negative impact on the environment and could "further militarize police."
Protesters have clashed with police for months and have camped out on the site day and night. The timing of the court filings coincides with the indictments of 60 rioters stemming from attacks on the construction site over the last several months.
The Vote to Stop Cop City Coalition also issued a statement after the indictments, which said, "The charges, like previous repressive prosecutions by the state of Georgia, seek to intimidate protesters, legal observers, and bail funds alike. It sends the chilling message that any dissent to Cop City will be punished with the full power and violence of the government."
The group claims the petition has been signed 116,000 times by Atlanta area residents. However, it seems the activist group missed the filing deadline, according to recent court motions. Documents show that the city of Atlanta has been forbidden to go through the official verification process, as the activist group missed the original August 21st filing deadline.
The case was pushed up to the federal level and a federal judge extended the deadline to September, but that ruling was then appealed, and the deadline extension was halted on September 1.
The mayor of Atlanta, Andre Dickens, and city workers are firmly in the cross hairs of the far-left group that initiated the petition.
Vote to Stop Cop City Coalition, the anti-police group who attempted to stop construction of the training center, issued the following statement after the ruling, "This is yet another disgraceful push by the city to stonewall democracy, showing that the mayor and the city of Atlanta fear the power of their constituents. The city was notified on Thursday of our intentions to submit, yet was too cowardly to release any response, or even respond to our email, until after we arrived."
The mayor of Atlanta has yet to offer comment, but a city attorney did release a statement, saying, "The city is not in position, does not have discretion, to choose to accept the petitions today, at least not to start the 50-day verification clock," said city attorney Robert Ashe.
The controversy is in response to the new construction of the newly dubbed "Atlanta Public Safety Training Center." Far left activists, and ANTIFA members have renamed the training center "Cop City," and the site has been the stage for controversy since construction began.
Construction of the training center has been mostly funded by the Atlanta Police Association. Police leadership has argued for years that recruitment and morale is low in the city and the construction of the facility will boost morale and give recruitment a bump.
Protesters from groups like Antifa and Black Lives Matter have argued that the construction of the training center could have a negative impact on the environment and could "further militarize police."
Protesters have clashed with police for months and have camped out on the site day and night. The timing of the court filings coincides with the indictments of 60 rioters stemming from attacks on the construction site over the last several months.
The Vote to Stop Cop City Coalition also issued a statement after the indictments, which said, "The charges, like previous repressive prosecutions by the state of Georgia, seek to intimidate protesters, legal observers, and bail funds alike. It sends the chilling message that any dissent to Cop City will be punished with the full power and violence of the government."
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Comments
2023-09-19T12:07-0400 | Comment by: Laurence
Just how are the police expected to do a good job if they don't have proper training? These are just a pack of Socialist jerks who should be ignored. If they interfere with construction, tear gas them.