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Fulton County judge to rule on 'Cop City' appeal

Plaintiffs say work should stop because critics want to appeal the work permit issued by DeKalb County

A judge said he would soon rule on a request to halt the Atlanta public safety training center project outside the southeast city limits.  

The court filing came from an environmental group, a DeKalb county commissioner, and a resident who lives near the site, infamously known as cop city.

Critics claim the 85-acre public safety training site project would foul a nearby creek. They want the project to stop so they can appeal the county permit to clear the land. And they want a judge to stop it. Although opponents filed an appeal – they say the work that started on the site earlier this month hasn’t stopped.

"It’s virtually unheard of that someone would work through a stay during an administrative appeal," attorney John Schwartz told Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox Jr, adding, "It just is illegal under the clean water act. The point is that this site can go somewhere else, but it’s illegal to put it on Intrenchment Creek. And it’s illegal to start clearing when there’s no authorized permit."

Critics of the site did not argue the merits of the project – which would train law enforcement officers in a state-of-the-art center and which police said would include de-escalation and other training designed to ease potential confrontations with police.  

Critics want to overhaul police methods and believe the so-called 'cop city' project is inconsistent with that goal.

"Your honor has been through too many rodeos to believe that this entire song and dance is about silt in the creek. This is simply an effort to block this project," attorney Simon Bloom, representing the Atlanta Police Foundation, told Judge Cox. The APF is funding much of the project.

Bloom asked Cox to rule quickly to keep the project on track.

"We have before us an attempt to stop what is the most significant government real estate project in the state of Georgia since Hartsfield airport," Bloom said.

Bloom added that more 'cop city' protests are scheduled for later this month – and said a stop work order could make it very difficult to start up again.

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