Police used tear gas and flash-bang grenades on protestors Monday in aerial footage from local news station WGXA News during an anti-“Cop City” demonstration urging the city of Atlanta to halt the construction of a new police training center.

Hundreds of protestors arrived at the guarded construction center in masks and chemical suits holding signs that read “Stop Cop City” and “Viva Tortuguita,” in remembrance of the environmental protestor who was fatally shot in January during a similar protest. The protestors were met with opposition by the officers following a physical interaction, resulting in the release of tear gas.

Police Chief for the City of Atlanta, Darin Schierbaum, stated that the protestors were there to incite officers by disobeying orders. “This is not a group that has the best interests of Atlanta at heart,” said Schierbaum during a press conference. “This is a group today that left Gresham Park prepared to reach the site, prepared to do harm, prepared to do destruction.” 

Opposition to the facility’s construction comes out of fear of the over-policing of black communities and the removal of hundreds of trees used for flood mitigation. Critics of the training center argue that the training center could lead to police militarization in the area. “It is a war base where police will learn military-like maneuvers to kill black people and control our bodies and movement,” the Stop Cop City movement stated on its website.

Currently, construction on the project is set to be completed in December 2024. The Vote to Stop Cop City Coalition’s petition to place the training center on the local ballot came to a standstill as the result of failing to meet deadline requirements after collecting thousands of signatures. Officials state that they are now awaiting a decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to determine the legality of a deadline extension in addition to other legal concerns.