ATLANTA — Atlanta police are looking to Gwinnett County arson investigators for answers.
Police want to know if suspected arsonists burned several trucks at a concrete business in Gwinnett County to protest the ongoing construction of Atlanta’s controversial public safety training center, the facility that opponents call “Cop City.”
The business in Gwinnett County is Ernst Concrete.
On Wednesday, someone posted on social media claiming responsibility for setting fire to Ernst Concrete trucks early Tuesday morning, believing that the company is one of the contractors helping build Atlanta’s public safety training facility.
Ernst had no comment, but later, the Atlanta Constitution reported that Ernst denied being one of the contractors.
Kamau Franklin of Community Movement Builders, who is one of the Atlanta “Stop Cop City” organizers, said Wednesday that none of the activists he knows has any idea who claimed responsibility for the fire.
Even so, Franklin said he and others support the destruction of any equipment that is, in fact, involved in the construction of the facility.
“Stopping the actual equipment that causes harm is a way of delaying a project,” Franklin said Wednesday. “And by delaying a project, I think the hope is that these contractors and developers will pull out because they will see this as too much of a headache. I definitely think that is part of that strategy that's being used in those cases.”
The state is already prosecuting dozens of people, charged in earlier incidents, who are accused of attacking police and damaging and destroying police vehicles and construction equipment.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum, after Monday’s protests at the training facility site, said law enforcement will not tolerate attacks on people or property.
“Those that will continue to do harm in our region are put on notice that we will continue to stop you if you attempt to impact the safety of our citizens,” Schierbaum said.
As for Tuesday’s fire, Gwinnett County arson investigators said they are aware of the social media posts claiming responsibility and will focus on finding out how it started, who might have started it, and why.