On January 18, Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, or Tortuguita as they were affectionately known, was shot and killed by police in Atlanta, Georgia while defending the Weelaunee Forest—the site of a proposed police training facility known as “Cop City.”
Cop City has been gaining nationwide attention and for an unfortunate reason: The facility is a stark reminder of the intersecting and destructive powers of white supremacy, militarism, and the climate crisis.
The current plans for the development of Cop City will see it become the largest police training facility in the U.S. — larger than 85 NFL football fields combined. This will involve the clearing and destruction of hundreds of acres of the Weelaunee Forest to turn it into a playground for the police to practice urban warfare tactics.
Backed by millions of dollars from corporations such as Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, and more, the Atlanta Police Foundation is planning to expand police power at the expense of Black and Brown communities and other communities of color in the city. And Tortuguita’s murder is one example of how a facility like Cop City can and will escalate state-sanctioned violence in the future.
But there is still time for us to stop this project from happening. Corporate Accountability and our allies are calling on the private investors of Atlanta’s Cop City to end their funding for this project and to sever their ties with the Atlanta Police Foundation. But we can’t do it without your support. Take action and add your name to our petition now.
The neighborhoods surrounding Weelaunee Forest are largely made up of lower-income Black residents. Now, they will feel and hear the presence of a training facility where cops will learn new ways to enact violence against ordinary people — especially Black and Brown people — right in their own backyard.
And in addition to the terror of an ever-present police force, Cop City will also be an environmental nightmare. By destroying the Weelaunee Forest, Cop City will decimate this vital green space, disrupt the ecology of surrounding areas, and endanger a critical component to Atlanta’s climate resilience.
Cop City will do irreparable harm to the city and citizens of Atlanta. We have to send a clear signal to the project’s investors that there is no place for a massive police training complex in the city. Stop Cop City and sign the petition now!
