Georgia police and FBI conduct Swat-style raids on 'Cop City' activists' homes

[mysteryowl]

Source: The Guardian/US

Police in Georgia, together with federal agencies, are conducting a crackdown on activists involved in a continuing campaign against a controversial police and fire department training center known as “Cop City” that has included acts of arson and sabotage against equipment being used on the project.

This week alone saw Atlanta-area raids by law enforcement that took a woman out of her house with no shirt, left a naked photo of another woman on display after ransacking a room and dragged a man by his hair – while arresting none of them.

The pre-dawn raids on three houses on Thursday were the third Swat-style operation in residential areas of Atlanta and nearby unincorporated DeKalb county tied to a movement that began in 2021 – and the first in which the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) played a prominent role.

The fight against Cop City has attracted national and global headlines, especially after police shot and killed one environmental protester at a campsite in a public park – the first such incident of its kind in US history.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/10/georgia-police-fbi-raids-cop-city-activists-atlanta

[SarahD]

1. Terrorism.

I expect more of this as we increase the number of police and militarize them.

[mysteryowl]

2. How do we citizens call for help to have the abusive police arrested?

This is really messed up.

[atreides1]

5. If the FBI is involved

We citizens cannot expect help from abusive law enforcement.

[wolfie001]

15. The fbi is mostly white males..........nt

[Hekate]

3. Thugs

[2naSalit]

4. I see a big, fat lawsuit regarding human rights.

[slightlv]

7. Except I expect the courts will be on the cops side

these days. Face it, it's a Republican world out there right now. Trump ain't President at the moment, but he might as well be. There are enough people who think he's still President, and they act as though he is. The only thing he doesn't have is the power of the office, which we have to make sure he never has again. Until that point, his troops are going to do everything he wants... whether he tells them directly or not. And that includes the cops. This is not going to be a good country to live in for a long few months. I worry what will happen after the election, when Trump loses... again. I don't feel like law enforcement is up to the task to take these yahoos out, and many of us will die at their hands. A hundred.. a thousand.. Timothy McVeighs. Damn Trump and the escalator he rode down on. As a country, we had a lot of karma to atone for. But damn, this takes the cake!

[wolfie001]

14. Every word truth!!!............nt

[Elessar Zappa]

24. Most of them are cowards.

And there’s plenty in law enforcement who would gladly put down any riots by the Trumpers. I’m not afraid of them one bit.

[DemMedic]

53. Yep

I'm a 911 Paramedic and was a medic on a SWAT team years back.

A lot of these guys are just posturing and acting tough.

I got away from SWAT because those are the guys that will kill, or get someone killed.

[crickets]

6. Wow. Way to prove the activists have a point. *slow clap*

[Chainfire]

8. The Gestapo lives!

[OldBaldy1701E]

19. Yep! (n/t)

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

9. Of course the pigs raided activists homes

[mountain grammy]

10. Call the cops.. oh wait.

these are gestapo tactics.. time for national attention.

[PSPS]

11. Has this even been in the US press? All I see/hear is about trump and hur.

[Evolve Dammit]

12. Hard right turn in progress. Except if you're white and rich.

[OldBaldy1701E]

20. Exactly!

[wolfie001]

13. Being a policeman is one of the very few ways.....

.....a white dood with mediocre ability and zero interpersonal skills can earn $85-$120,000 per year plus full benefits, including their ridiculous pensions. Many of them only working 20 years. This is a corporate scam to oppress Unions and people who have progressive ideas. It's an evil structure that is not doing our society any good. I don't see it changing anytime soon especially with those idiots that want to push for the Green party. So naive and self-defeating.

[machoneman]

16. O.K., I get it but: why are they protesting a "training center"? Maybe save their powder for more serious issues?

[cbabe]

18. Training for what? Urban warfare? Plus forest destruction.

Calling out national guard to protect construction site?

Atlanta refuses to recognize/accept activists’ petitions.

This is deadly serious in many ways.

A place to start:

https://newsone.com › 4986564 › cop-city-everthing-we-know
Copy City: Everything We Know About The ATL Training Center - NewsOne

6 days agoThe Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known as Cop City, is an 85-acre police and firefighter training

[EX500rider]

21. Firefighters and police do require training

[Farmer-Rick]

22. This is NOT about training law enforcement

The Atlanta Police Foundation – a private, non-profit organization – is behind the training center, using taxpayer and corporate funds.

The Atlanta Police Foundation was founded in 2003 to fund police activity that is not funded by government.

Unlike police forces, which are accountable to the public, Atlanta Police Foundation is accountable solely to its own board of directors. In January 2023, directors included leaders of American companies Delta Air Lines, Waffle House, The Home Depot, Georgia-Pacific, Equifax, real estate company Carter, Accenture, Wells Fargo and United Parcel Service. Rob Baskin is the vice president and director of public affairs. United States Secret Service veteran Dave Wilkinson is the chief executive officer and president.

This is a paramilitary group training camp for corporate henchmen. It's corporations creating their own military forces.

[cbabe]

23. Thanks for this background info.

[EX500rider]

25. Are the firefighters they will train also corporate henchman?

[Farmer-Rick]

28. Sure

In the Navy there is the enlisted Fire controlman (abbreviated as FC) occupational rating. Often confused with being fireman on board a ship, FC's actually operate advanced weapons systems, whereas Damage Controlman (DC) are actually the shipboard firefighters.

They may be referring to weapons system control. Or fire damage control. Either one are important functions in a military group.

Did you think it was training in fire prevention like your local volunteer fire department?

Henchmen was hyperbolic but it is an unaccountable private police/military force that is causing a serious violent response from police and FBI.

[EX500rider]

29. I don't think you are correct

They aren't going to be training any private forces there, they'll be using private trainers to train public servants which isn't all that uncommon.

[ck4829]

30. If these are "public servants", what do public enemies look like?

"This week alone saw Atlanta-area raids by law enforcement that took a woman out of her house with no shirt, left a naked photo of another woman on display after ransacking a room and dragged a man by his hair – while arresting none of them. "

[Farmer-Rick]

31. Sure they will be training

Turning Atlanta former and active police and agents into corporate paid para-military.

You don't pay "teachers" and "trainers" over $450,000 a year.

I don't think you are correct.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/morgansimon/2023/03/14/cops-and-donuts-go-together-more-than-you-thought-the-corporations-funding-cop-city-in-atlanta/?sh=204d77f6bc60

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Police_Foundation

[EX500rider]

36. The executive of the well funded police foundation is neither a teacher or trainer.

And again, they will be training regular police, SWAT & fire fighters there. All work for the city of Atlanta.

[Farmer-Rick]

37. Of course corporate boards only have

America's best interest in mind, especially when they pay their front men over $450,000 a year.

Why did they pick Atlanta to set up their paramilitary "training" program, I wonder?

[EX500rider]

38. Who exactly said it was for "paramilitary" training beside you?

The $90 million[2] construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center began in spring 2023 on an 85-acre plot of land in the South River Forest, DeKalb County, Georgia.[3][4] The land is owned by the City of Atlanta.[4]

Once complete, the center is planned to be used as a training campus for police and fire services and is expected to open at the end of 2023.[5] Planned facilities include classrooms, a burn building, a mock city (including apartments, a bar/nightclub, and a school), and a shooting range.[5][6] 265 surrounding acres of the site are planned to be used as green-space

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cop_City

[Farmer-Rick]

48. Yeah, we can trust corporations

To act in the best interest of all Americans.

[limbicnuminousity]

49. Because the LAPD and NYPD already have a rep.

They can practice urban pacification more easily in the south without ruffling feathers until the technique is mastered.

[Farmer-Rick]

52. Exactly

A giant cop center funded by huge corporations and run by a board of corporate representatives who get paid half a million.......not elected......not hired by the government, is not a good thing.

[limbicnuminousity]

50. Because it's reminiscent of the School of the Americas.

White supremacist/MAGA infiltration of law enforcement and mounting state-sanctioned authoritarianism is serious.

[Farmer-Rick]

54. Yes,

You are exactly right.

[cbabe]

17. Previous post

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218670735

[Raine]

26. DISGUSTING!!! 😡🤬 nt

[Silent Type]

27. Democrats in Fulton and Dekalb counties are behind the police/fire/emergency training center.

I trust these Democrats on this, especially Dickens and Thurmond.

Gawd knows, these departments need training (not militarization type training, though).

Hopefully, they’ll be heavily trained to handle white wing terrorists, diffusing situations, etc.

[Farmer-Rick]

32. You trust these corporations

To train them into peaceful public police?

These organizations have been around for years, though Not usually building cop centers. These corporate foundations usually pay cops bonuses and extra wages and also provide training.

How peaceful have the cops been in the last 16 years? The death of innocent people of color in police custody has increased, not decreased.

Corporations can not be trusted to support domestic tranquility.

[Silent Type]

33. I trust the Democratic leaders of Fulton and Dekalb. I don't think the facility is run by corporations.

[Farmer-Rick]

34. Here is wiki

If wiki knows it's a corporate board then it's probably common knowledge.

"Unlike police forces, which are accountable to the public, Atlanta Police Foundation is accountable solely to its own board of directors. In January 2023, directors included leaders of American companies Delta Air Lines, Waffle House, The Home Depot, Georgia-Pacific, Equifax, real estate company Carter, Accenture, Wells Fargo and United Parcel Service. Rob Baskin is the vice president and director of public affairs. United States Secret Service veteran Dave Wilkinson is the chief executive officer and president."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Police_Foundation

But that's fine, you don't need to think it is run by corporations. The owners of those corporations don't want you to know anyway.

[Silent Type]

35. I trust the Democratic Mayors and Commissioners who are behind the training facility.

[Farmer-Rick]

39. What exactly have our Democratic leaders

Said about cop city and the recent police attacks on activists? These activists are normally Democratic voters.

[Silent Type]

40. Here's Atlanta Mayor Dickens' comments a few days ago:

Dickens' comments begin about 2.00.

[EX500rider]

41. Apparently to some "activists" & "arsonists" are the same thing

[Silent Type]

42. Appears so.

[Farmer-Rick]

43. Do you have the right video?

I went to the 2.00 time marker and it was just the end of the clip.

[Silent Type]

44. Sorry, Rick, it's at 1:38. Maybe you should have rewound a bit, everyone else seemed to find it.

[Farmer-Rick]

45. Who else even looked at your video?

Gee not silent you really are wanting to get into an insult contest. I think I will decline.

[Silent Type]

46. Cause they know it's true. Do you think Dicken's is wrong?

[Torchlight]

47. I can see why they'd want to pivot the discussion from this to anything else.

Tough to look at these swats alone, in and of themselves, and find anything at all of merit in their actions, or even defensible. Only with irrelevancies added for better dilution can it become conversational; from their perspective, that is.

[marble falls]

51. Why would the FBI allow itself to be drawn into this possible windfall for Cop City. Really stupid cop move.