Jan. 18, 2023 The shooting of a Georgia State Patrol trooper was possibly related to continuing protests over a proposed training facility for the Atlanta Police Department in DeKalb County.
By Tyler Estep Source The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
A Georgia State Patrol trooper was shot Wednesday morning near the planned site of Atlanta’s new public safety training center.
The Georgia Department of Public Safety confirmed the shooting, saying there was an “active incident on Constitution Road.” Law enforcement was out en masse along nearby Key Road, which runs along the northern edge of the future training center site.
The exact nature of the trooper’s injuries was unclear, but a source told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that they were believed to be non-life threatening. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed it was investigating the incident, but authorities did not immediately provide further details, including the status of the person accused of shooting the trooper.
Channel 2 Action News reported that the shooting was “related to ongoing protests of the Atlanta Police Department’s proposed training facility,” but that has not been independently confirmed.
For more than a year now, the site and surrounding areas in southwestern DeKalb County have been an epicenter for controversy and clashes between activists and law enforcement. Six people were arrested last month and charged with domestic terrorism in relation to activities protesting the training center.
While more traditional forms of protest have also taken place, more extreme activists have thrown Molotov cocktails, rocks and other objects at police and contractors on the site. They’ve also destroyed machinery. Anonymous bloggers have claimed responsibility for vandalism across the state and the country, at homes and businesses they deem to be sympathetic to or directly involved in construction of the $90-million facility.
As recently as Tuesday night, Assistant Atlanta Police Chief Carven Tyus said things had “been quiet out there” since December’s arrests, which marked a dramatic escalation in law enforcement’s approach to the activists.
Police have conducted “almost daily walkthroughs and drone surveillance” at the site, Tyus said. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens vowed recently that full-time security would be provided as work begins to build the facility.
The property — the forested former site of a prison farm — is owned by the city of Atlanta but rests in DeKalb County. The county has yet to approve the necessary land disturbance permits for construction to begin.
DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond said Wednesday morning he was praying for the wounded trooper’s speedy recovery and that the county would “continue to cooperate with and provide support to the multijurisdictional law enforcement task force charged with maintaining peace and security.”
In a tweet, Gov. Brian Kemp — who has not been shy about labeling the activists as terrorists — said his prayers were also with the injured trooper and “public public safety officers across all law enforcement agencies today.”
“As our thoughts remain with him and his family, our resolve also remains steadfast and strong to see criminals brought to justice,” he wrote.