ATLANTA — Law enforcement officials responded Sunday evening to reports of a fire at at the construction site for the new Atlanta Police Department training facility.
Heavy smoke could be seen miles away from the site near Bouldercrest Road and Key Road in DeKalb County, according to Channel 2 Action News.
Protesters at the site are still being cleared out, police told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A DeKalb officer on the scene said law enforcement officials are “making progress. Those who want to leave peacefully are being given the opportunity to leave.”
Firecrackers were being set off by activists when police arrived.
Meanwhile, police have blocked off the roads leading to the facility.
Various groups who have protested against the site view the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center as an effort by Atlanta to “militarize” the police while also compromising the environment by building a center on land that they say should be preserved and cleaned up. The city says the center is a much-needed and long-overdue training facility for Atlanta’s police officers and firefighters.
The conflict over the project attracted national attention after a Georgia State Patrol trooper in January fatally shot protester Manuel Teran at the training site. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Teran shot first and wounded the trooper as the state tried to clear the property of protesters.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said last week that the city is creating a new task force to address concerns surrounding the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center site.
On Saturday, a week of protests and festivities kicked off with the goal of stopping the project on the 85-acre wooded property. A music festival was among activities to help draw attention to the issue.
In December when a fire was reported, a dumpster was set ablaze at the site and police were greeted by a group of protesters who hurled rocks at firefighters and set off firecrackers, according to Atlanta and DeKalb police.
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