Hundreds gather outside of DeKalb County Jail to protest Atlanta public safety training center

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — More than 100 protesters gathered outside of the DeKalb County Jail to protest the Public Safety Training Center.

The group said they are making their voices heard hours after a march earlier Monday afternoon.

Police said they tried to break through a line of officers on ‘West Side Place’ and police used tear gas.

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Protesters also displayed lights on the side of the jail with messages that said ‘Stop Cop City’ and ‘Shut It Down’.

DeKalb County Police quickly moved in to stop them from shining the lights on the building. The protesters clashed with police twice on Monday.

Police told Channel 2 Action News that the protesters tried to break through a line of officers at ‘West Side Place’ and Constitution Road. That’s when officers deployed gas.

“Groups have called themselves together from across this country to come to Atlanta, Georgia. Individuals we’re encountering with are from Illinois, California, Oklahoma, Washington state, and Texas,” said Chief Darin Schierbaum with Atlanta Police.

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Schierbaum showed the items that were confiscated from the protesters.

“We have bolt cutters. They have been used to enter the site. We have gas masks that were being put on before individuals even left the park. We also have an array of tools behind the fire chief that are designed to use as weapons against law enforcement,” said Schierbaum.

But Monday night, outside the jail protesters defended their actions.

“The police are now attempting to blend our committed nonviolent action as violent because we brought gas masks. We brought those because we knew that we were going to be attacked by the police no matter what we did and we needed to defend ourselves,” said a protestor.

Schierbaum said they are willing to work with the protesters, but they have to remain peaceful.

“We can’t tolerate nonsense, putting individuals at risk, or trying to undermine the ability of this police department,” said Schierbaum.

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