For nearly three hours Thursday morning, an activist protesting Atlanta’s planned public safety training center was locked to equipment at a Midtown construction site, prompting the partial closure of a major street.
Michael Czajkowski, 34, was locked to a construction elevator at a Brasfield & Gorrie work site along Peachtree Street between 17th and West Peachtree streets. Czajkowski was arrested on charges of obstruction and criminal trespassing, Atlanta police said.
The incident began at around 5:45 a.m., and the street was fully reopened by 8:30 a.m. It also delayed construction workers from starting their day on time.
Brasfield & Gorrie is one of the contractors building the training facility at the site of the old Atlanta Prison Farm in the south DeKalb County woods.
“It should be noted that Atlanta police take pride in allowing these individuals to protest peacefully,” Maj. Christian Hunt told reporters. “This is the civil rights capital of the world, and we take pride in allowing people to do that.”
A group of co-activists gathered on the sidewalk in support but left shortly after, Hunt said.
In a news release, a group that opposes the training center said the activist used “a reinforced pipe” to attach to the equipment in order to protest the company’s involvement in the project.
Thursday’s protest was the second of its kind in less than two months. In January, two protesters locked themselves to equipment at a Brasfield & Gorrie site at 12th and Juniper streets, prompting a road closure that lasted four hours.
Activists in that case used what authorities call a “sleeping dragon” to lock their arms to equipment. The device is made by placing an individual’s hands inside pipes that are bound together with other materials to make it more difficult for authorities to cut through and remove them from protest sites. Thursday’s protester utilized a similar device using what appeared to be a PVC pipe, Hunt said.
Those opposed to the training center have said its construction will damage the South River Forest and contribute to what they believe is the militarization of the police department. City officials have said the facility, which is set to open later this year, is vital to maintaining well-trained police and fire departments.
Activists in metro Atlanta and other major U.S. cities have targeted companies involved in the building of the center. Also in January, four pieces of construction equipment were set ablaze at a townhome construction site linked to another subcontractor.
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