💵🚔💥 Cop City Jus’ Score Big Kala

Da Atlanta City Council 🏛️ wen stamp da green light 🚦 early Tuesday fo’ drop $31 million on top one big kine police 👮 and fire 🔥 training complex, spocking out one project dat wen make plenty protest ✊ fo’ like two years and pump up da heat ova da police in da city 🌃.

Da feel inside da City Hall 🏢 wen da vote wen go down, had plenty mana 💪 behind da talk story ova dis complex. Da workers in da city wen told fo’ stay home 🏠 work on Monday, cuz da big guys wen warn ’bout security kine stuff 🚨. Da building stay packa to da max all da way into Tuesday morning 🌅, wit hundreds of da guys squeezing inside fo’ da council meeting.

Dis ting wen last ova 16 hours 🕰️, wit more den 300 people talking to da council before da vote. One by one, da guys on da mic 🎤 wen share dea mana’o dat wen show da mix up kine stuffs of race, politics 🏛️, and nature 🌳 dat wen shape da city’s talk story ova da project, wea plenty people know um as “Cop City.”

Most of da guys dat wen step up to da mic wen get all hamajang, saying same kine stuff dat wen been said for months at da rallies: da facility wen cost kala 💵 dat could go odda places; it would make da city’s police force 👮‍♂️ more like army guys; and it would make one big mess to one beautiful green space 🌿 in da city dat stay growing fast 🚀.

Approval of da $31 million in spending on Monday wen look like fo’ sure thing ✅, but da vote still wen test if all da guys against da project, dat dey call officially da Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, wen make any of da city’s leaders second guess 🤔. Da 15-member council wen vote 11 to 4 fo’ say yes.

Da cost for da training center suppose to be half and half between da taxpayers 💼 and kala raised by da Atlanta Police Foundation, one nonprofit group dat back up da force. But get plenty guys starting fo’ worry about how much da taxpayers gotta pay in da end 💸, making some council guys take one nodda look at dea votes.

Da worry wen be about one lease-back deal where da city would have to pay $1.2 million every year 🗓️. Da Mayor Andre Dickens, wen answer questions from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 📰, wen put out one statement last week dat da payments no going be more kala fo’ da taxpayers, saying dat da city “stay and continue fo’ pay more den $1.4 million each year for leases to use odda places for public safety training.”

Da plan get fo’ make over one old prison farm 🚜🌾 into what da guys who back um up see as one modern place for da needs of one police force in one big and complicated city 🏙️. Going get areas fo’ practice driving 🚘, and fake set ups of one convenience store 🏪, one house 🏠 and one nightclub 🍸, fo’ da trainees learn in da kine situations dey could see in da field.

Wat wen start as beef against da facility itself wen blow up over time into big kine mad 😡 about da way da officials wen go hard for stop da protests ✊.

Get rallies at da planned site, located in DeKalb County just outside da city of Atlanta, wen turn into big kine fights 👊 between da cops and da protesters. In January, one 26-year-old environment activist named Manuel Esteban Paez Terán wen get shot and die, and one state trooper wen get hurt.

Da law guys wen go after domestic terrorism charges against plenty of da protesters, as state officials argued dat da unrest wen caused by agitators who wen not from Georgia 🍑.

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NOW IN ENGLISH

💵🚔💥 Cop City Scores Big Funding

The Atlanta City Council 🏛️ approved early Tuesday to allocate $31 million towards a sizable police 👮 and fire 🔥 training complex, supporting a project that has sparked numerous protests ✊ for about two years and amplified tensions surrounding law enforcement in the city 🌃.

The atmosphere inside City Hall 🏢 during the vote was charged with deep sentiment over this complex. City workers were instructed to work from home 🏠 on Monday, as authorities issued warnings about potential security threats 🚨. The building was crowded late into the night and well into Tuesday morning 🌅, with hundreds of people packed inside for the council meeting.

The session lasted more than 16 hours 🕰️, with over 300 people addressing the council before the vote. One by one, the speakers 🎤 shared their perspectives that illuminated the multifaceted intersection of racial, political 🏛️, and environmental 🌳 issues that have shaped the city’s discourse over the project, which many have come to know as “Cop City.”

The majority of those who spoke were critical, echoing sentiments that had been repeated during months of demonstrations: the facility was an expenditure 💵 that could be better allocated elsewhere; it would condition the city’s police force 👮‍♂️ to adopt a more militaristic approach; and it would disrupt a valued expanse of green space 🌿 in the rapidly developing city 🚀.

The approval of the $31 million in spending on Monday was largely anticipated ✅, yet the vote was still a test of whether opposition to the project, officially referred to as the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, had caused any wavering 🤔 among the city’s leaders. The 15-member council voted 11 to 4 in favor.

The cost of the training center is supposed to be shared equally between taxpayers 💼 and funds raised by the Atlanta Police Foundation, a nonprofit group supporting the force. However, growing concerns have arisen about how much taxpayers will ultimately bear 💸, leading some council members to reconsider their votes.

The concerns centered on a lease-back agreement in which the city would pay $1.2 million annually 🗓️. Mayor Andre Dickens, in response to questions raised by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 📰, issued a statement last week asserting that the payments would not impose additional burden on taxpayers, stating that the city “has and continues to pay more than $1.4 million each year for leases to use other facilities for public safety training.”

The plans involve transforming an old prison farm 🚜🌾 into what supporters envision as a modern facility tailored to the needs of a police force operating in a large and complex city 🏙️. There will be areas for practicing driving 🚘, and mock setups of a convenience store 🏪, a home 🏠 and a nightclub 🍸, allowing trainees to learn in simulations of circumstances they might encounter in the field.

What began as opposition to the facility itself escalated over time into intense anger 😡 about the unyielding aggressive approach officials took to suppress protests ✊.

Rallies at the planned site, located in DeKalb County just outside the city of Atlanta, escalated into violent confrontations 👊 between law enforcement officers and protesters. In January, a 26-year-old environmental activist named Manuel Esteban Paez Terán was fatally shot and a state trooper was injured.

Authorities pursued domestic terrorism charges against many of the protesters, as state officials argued that the unrest had been caused by agitators who were not from Georgia 🍑.