Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said Tuesday the city’s public safety training center is still on track to open in December, and it will take about three months for the department to fully move in in to the facility.
The remarks were made Tuesday to a room of law enforcement and city officials at the Atlanta Police Foundation’s annual “Crime is Toast” awards breakfast at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Once open and operational, Schierbaum said there will be a strong law enforcement coalition that will continue working together to ensure the facility is safe and protected from possible attacks.
“The necessary resource allocations will be made and we’ll make sure we have what we need in place to protect the training facility,” Schierbaum said.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens called the training center “the most important advancement in our city’s law enforcement history” since integration of the police department.
Dickens said two thirds of the cost of the $115 million facility will be paid “by the philanthropy of Atlanta’s private sector at no cost to Atlanta’s taxpayers.” Previous reporting has shown that the actual cost to taxpayers is expected to be more than double what was promised by city officials.
Chief Operating Officer LaChandra Burks told city council members Monday the construction costs have jumped to $115 from $109 million because of ongoing security concerns, and that the police foundation could cover the difference. There have been repeated attacks and destruction of police vehicles and construction equipment.
Burks said city officials feel confident that this is the last increase in construction costs. The city has also spent around $2 million in legal battles over the facility, including against a referendum effort to put the issue on the ballot.
“It’s not surprising that the city leadership has cheated the residents of Atlanta out of voting while they continue to build,” said Mary Hooks, an organizer with the “Stop Cop City” movement. “They are accountable to APF, Buckhead and corporations, not the people that voted them in. That is why, come 2025, they will get voted out,”
Schierbaum added that members of the Atlanta Police Foundation Board have been threatened, have received emails telling them that opponents knew where their children went to school. Protesters have caused an estimated $10 million in damages, city officials previously said. Nonetheless, the chief said the facility will be opened.
“I want to reassure because I have citizens who worry that certain illegal antics are going to stop the training center and I want to reassure them that will not happen,” Schierbaum said. “We are going to make sure we stand against illegal acts, and we are going to open the training center and we’re going to be about the business of saving lives”
Editor’s Note: The charitable arm of Cox Enterprises, owner of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was among the presenting sponsors at the event and has contributed to the project, as have other local foundations and corporations.
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