Cop city protest: Residents blame protesters for police camera vandalism
Stop Cop City protesters likely behind APD cameras being vandalized, residents say
Surveillance video shows three people, wearing head and face coverings, last Saturday use all their might to violently shake this surveillance camera in an attempt to tip it from its moorings. That doesn’t work so one of them climbs the shoulders of another vandal to hammer away at the camera.
ATLANTA - Vandals toppled several surveillance cameras connected to a controversial plan to build a new training center for Atlanta police and first responders.
Some neighbors in the Boulder Walk community believe the cameras got knocked over because they’re affiliated with the so-called "Cop City."
Surveillance video shows three people, wearing head and face coverings, last Saturday, using all their might to violently shake a surveillance camera in an attempt to tip it from its moorings. That doesn’t work, so one of them climbs the shoulders of another vandal to hammer away at the camera.
"I was ridiculous," said Marc Bolden, who heads the Boulder Walk Homeowners’ Association. "It was almost comical the way they were climbing on the poles. They were dressed for hiding. They were camouflaged, had camouflage gear on their faces. They were walking around with hammers."
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Bolden’s neighborhood sits near the planned training center for Atlanta police and first responders that some call "Cop City."
Bolden said he’s certain the vandals are opponents of the plan.
"We’ve encountered them several times, passing out flyers, going door-to-door," Bolden said. "The same night the cameras were torn down. They actually put ‘f** cop city’ on the fence."
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Vandals toppled other cameras in the area. They even sprayed painted epithets too vulgar to repeat on a homeowner’s fence.
The Atlanta Police Foundation plans to build on 85-acres. They’d preserve the remaining 265-acres as green space. But many opponents have protested the site. They see it as the expansion of the police state. They believe it threatens the Atlanta forest.
"You can protest, but coming to vandalize our property, what does that say about what you’re protesting?" Bolden asked.
COP CITY: ATLANTA POLICE OFFER $25,000 REWARD FOR ANONYMOUS TIPS LEADING TO ARREST OF VANDALS
APD, last month, offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the people responsible for previous acts of vandalism toward cop-city and locations working with the project.
The property sits in unincorporated DeKalb County. FOX 5 called DeKalb police to ask if they are investigating had not gotten a response as of late Monday evening.