home.social

#copcity — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #copcity, aggregated by home.social.

  1. Defendants in Georgia ‘Cop City’ case say they are in limbo as trial delays continue

    By R.J. RICO
    Updated 12:26 AM EDT, May 12, 2025

    ATLANTA (AP) — "Single mother Priscilla Grim lost her job. Aspiring writer Julia Dupuis frequently stares at the bedroom ceiling, numb. Geography and environmental studies researcher Hannah Kass is worried about her career prospects after she graduates from her Ph.D. program.

    "The three are among 61 defendants accused by Republican Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr of participating in a yearslong racketeering conspiracy to halt the construction of a police and firefighter training facility just outside Atlanta that critics pejoratively call 'Cop City.'

    "Their cases are at a standstill, 20 months after being indicted under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, or RICO, which is likely the largest criminal racketeering case ever filed against protesters in U.S. history, experts say.

    "Trial for five of the defendants was supposed to start last year but got bogged down in procedural issues. The judge overseeing the case then moved to another court. A new judge has set a status hearing for Wednesday.

    "The delays have left people in limbo, facing charges carrying up to 20 years behind bars for what they maintain was #LegitimateProtest, not #DomesticTerrorism. The case also has suppressed a movement that brought together hundreds of #activists to protect a wooded patch of land that ultimately was razed for the recently completed $118 million, 85-acre (34-hectare) project.

    "Officials say the project is sorely needed to replace outdated facilities and boost officers’ morale. Opponents say it will be a training ground for a #MilitarizedPolice force and its construction has worsened #environmental damage in a poor, majority-Black area.

    "Protests escalated after the fatal 2023 shooting of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, known as #Tortuguita, who was camping near the site when authorities launched a clearing operation. Officials said they killed Tortuguita, 26, after the activist shot and wounded a trooper from inside a tent.

    "A family-commissioned autopsy concluded Tortuguita was killed with their hands in the air, but a prosecutor found the officers’ use of force was 'objectively reasonable.' "

    Read more:
    apnews.com/article/cop-city-ri

    #ACAB #StopCopCityQueens #StopCopCitiesEverywhere #JusticeForTort #USPol #StopCopCity #WeelauneeForest #DefendTheForest #CopCity #SilencingDissent #CiminalizingDissent #MilitarizedPolice

  2. Police officers won't face charges in fatal shooting of protester Manuel Teran at Atlanta's '#CopCity'

    Six troopers fired shots that resulted in Teran's death in January.

    ByMark Osborne and Kiara Alfonseca
    October 6, 2023

    "None of the #Georgia State Police troopers involved in the fatal shooting of Manuel '#Tortuguita' Teran will face charges, according to Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney George R. Christian.

    "Teran, who used they/them pronouns, was shot and killed by police on Jan. 18 as officers raided campgrounds occupied by environmental demonstrators who had allegedly been camping out for months to protest the development of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, dubbed '#CopCity' by critics.

    "According to an autopsy of Teran sent to ABC News, they did not have gunpowder residue on their hands. Officials claimed Teran fired the first shot at a state trooper. Officers then responded with gunfire.

    "In Friday's announcement that no charges would be filed, Christian wrote that Teran responded to officers firing 'less lethal' pepperball rounds by 'shooting four (4) times his 9 mm pistol through the tent striking and seriously injuring a Georgia State Trooper. Six Troopers returned fire resulting in the death of Teran.'

    "'The use of lethal (deadly) force by the Georgia State Patrol was objectively reasonable under the circumstances of this case,' Christian wrote. 'No criminal charges will be brought against the Georgia State Patrol Troopers involved in the shooting of Manuel Perez Teran.'

    "Teran had at least 57 gunshot wounds in their body, according to the autopsy, including in the hands, torso, legs and head.

    "An independent autopsy from the family found that Teran’s hands were raised during the fatal shooting, however, the DeKalb County autopsy stated, 'There are too many variables with respect to movement of the decedent and the shooters to draw definitive conclusions concerning Mr. Teran's body position.'

    "The DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office had ruled the death a homicide.

    "The Georgia Attorney General's Office is conducting its own investigation into the shooting."

    abcnews.go.com/US/police-offic

    #StopCopCity #DefendTheForest #ACAB #DefendWeelauneeForest #Fascism #ClimateJustice #DirectAction #JusticeForTort #JusticeForTortugita #AtlantaGeorgia