Two Arrested in 'Cop City' Protest Atop Atlanta Construction Crane
Two people were arrested in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 27 after locking themselves to the top of a crane to protest the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known as “Cop City,” which is being built on an 85-acre site outside the metropolis.
Video released by the Atlanta Police Department shows police and fire-rescue officers cutting through reinforced pipes that the protesters had used to lock themselves to the crane at a Brasfield & Gorrie construction site in Midtown Atlanta.
After reaching the top, the activists unfurled a banner saying “Drop Cop City.”
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Stop Cop City activists, it was the third time in three months that activists have protested at Brasfield & Gorrie construction sites.
Stop Cop City activists said they were urging companies such as Brasfield & Gorrie to stop working on the construction of the police training center.
In a post about the arrest, Atlanta Police described the protesters as “anarchists.” Storyful could not independently verify if the protesters subscribe to anarchism as a political theory. Credit: Atlanta Police via Storyful
Video Transcript
- My concern, if they love you, they wouldn't have you hurt a feet up in the air. I'm just going to be honest with you. All right. So that's not love. Love is safety. Love is care. Love is kind. And you still be able to push your agenda of what you're trying to get us to do. It's not love to fall backwards and fall down there. It's instant death.
So all I'm asking you all, guys, we're cut. That's what we do. That's what we get paid to do is cut. All right? So y'all guys have made it up to the top. Y'all got the crowd. Everybody's happy. They're satisfied with you at this point. There's no need to put yourself in a situation if we're cutting, and we can't carry you down, and you drop 100 feet from the ground and snap your neck on this metal.
- --and we're done. Yeah, spread that one out.
- There's the third one in there if you need it.
- Yeah, I'll probably just need the two right now.
- Yeah.
- I just want to make sure that we're covered up completely.
- You guys want that--
[MACHINE WHIRRING]
- [INAUDIBLE].
- Yeah.
- There we go.
- Yep, down like this.
- Yep.
[MACHINE WHIRRING]
- And got medics down there.
- Yeah, OK. I'm just letting y'all know. I'm just giving you all a--
- Is that the bag on the lower level?
- It's going to be the bag that has white duct tape on it.
- OK.
- On the handle.
- OK, yeah.
- We're good. I would watch you swinging.
- Yeah, we don't want her swinging that.
- Yeah, absolutely not going to--
- Well, we don't want you using that out. Yeah, we don't want it messing up right now.
- OK.
- We're holding down.
- [INAUDIBLE]?
- Yes?
- Look up. Hold on right quick. I'll pull it up.
- All right.
- He's going to come put a harness on, another harness on her so we can lower her down.
- OK. Gotcha.
- Move out your way, Jeff. Are you good?
- Yep, no, no. We're just backing up.
- All right.
- There are people around, man. Try to give you an opportunity. I'm going to make it safe for us and get you out of here.