At the five-hour mark of public testimony, just four supporters had spoken in favor of the project out of more than 80 public speakers. Hundreds more opponents still waited for their chance to speak.
Speakers returned time and again to a few common themes: Their fears of police violence; their distrust of public officials in the wake of misleading promises about how the facility would be paid for; and their opposition to cutting down trees in South River Forest, the site of the proposed training facility.
Several public commenters also pushed back at characterizations that they were outside agitators who came to Atlanta from afar, proudly touting their ties to the community.
As the meeting stretched into the evening, the Council had all but stopped enforcing decorum rules against outbursts during the meeting, allowing those in attendance to cheer on the speakers. Chants of “Stop Cop City!” periodically broke out in the chambers, and admonishments were rare.
Alison Johnson, executive director of the Housing Justice League, offered another reason the council should vote no: Limited city dollars could be spent on the city’s affordable housing crisis, instead.
“I would think that we would have our priorities set on something totally different,” Johnson said.
“Now is the time to do the right thing,” she added. “We can’t regrow land.”
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