APD: $200K reward offered in arson attacks linked to training center protests

Reward in arsons connected to 'Stop Cop City' activity

A $200,000 reward is being offered to catch the group behind several arson fires in metro Atlanta. Police say opponents of the project they've dubbed "Cop City" have taken responsibility for the fires.

ATLANTA - The Atlanta Police Department, the Georgia State Fire Marshals and other law enforcement agencies have announced a reward of up to $200,000 in the search for people behind a series of arson attacks across the metro Atlanta area in protest against the city's construction of the controversial Public Safety Training Center.

At a press conference on Thursday morning, Police Chief Darin Schierbaum called the attacks "no good at all - no motivation other than to harm."

$200K reward for arsonists

The Atlanta Police Department and other law enforcement agencies are hoping a $200,000 reward will help them arrest the people responsible for arson attacks allegedly aimed at stopping the new training center.

"We've been very fortunate that no one has died yet in these careless attacks," Schierbaum said.

The police chief said the arson attacks have caused nearly $10 million in damage to the state. Similar attacks in Michigan, Minnesota, and New York have been traced back to the protests, he alleged.

RAW: Police offer new reward in arson attacks

The Atlanta Police Department and other law enforcement partners are offering a $200,000 reward to catch the person or persons connected to a multiple arson attacks around the area.

"We're going to put the person or persons in jail who are starting these fires," he said.

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The latest fire happened on Nov. 14 and destroyed several vehicles belonging to a construction company in Lawrenceville.

A spokesperson for Ernst Concrete said the extent of the company's involvement with the APSTC was supplying two loads of concrete for the roadway surrounding the project.

Atlanta police increase reward in arson case

Atlanta police along with the ATF announce a total of $60,000 in reward money to catch the group of people connected with a series of arsons across the city.

"Ernst Concrete is not the concrete foundation company for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center," the company said.

According to an online post titled "Make Contractors Afraid Again," they set the fire to make the cost of the contract greater than the profit. They also encouraged "experimentation with incendiary placement."

In early October, another company involved in the building of APSTC was also targeted. In that incident, a tractor was torched.

Schierbaum also mentioned two other fires he said were connected to the protests. In July, a group used homemade "incendiary devices" to start a fire at the Atlanta Police Department's current training center on the south side of the city that destroyed eight motorcycles.

Arson attack damages 8 Atlanta police motorcycles

Atlanta officials say the fire that destroyed eight police bikes could have sparked an explosion and brought down an entire building. They say that fire was intentionally set. FOX 5 got an exclusive up-close look at the burned motorcycles. Public safety officials now need to replace those bikes and repair other bikes that sustained less damage.

"There was a police officer inside the precinct at the time this occurred. Had these vehicles been set on fire, the entire precinct would have been ignited," Schierbaum said.

Less than two months earlier, police say two people firebombed the Westside At-Promise Center, a center for at-risk youth that had been in the English Avenue/Vine City community for five years.

"It's wrong. It should be condemned, and we're going to arrest those individuals," Schierbaum said.

Police, 'Block Cop City' protesters clash

Police and protesters clashed on the streets of DeKalb County Monday. The group, intent on halting the construction of the planned Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, faced off with the SWAT team. At one point, police threw tear gas and a flash bang.

Controversy over Atlanta's Public Safety Training Center

Protests against the training center — dubbed "Cop City" by opponents — have been going on for more than two years. Around the same time as the fire at the concrete company, activists held meetings, concerts, dinners, and direct action to rally support to block the project.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and other supporters say the 85-acre, $90 million facility would replace inadequate training facilities and would help address difficulties in hiring and retaining police officers. Opponents have expressed concern that it could lead to greater police militarization and that its construction in the South River Forest will worsen environmental damage in a poor, majority-Black area.

Vandalism continues at public safety training center site

Authorities want to find the people involved in torching a tractor used for construction of the controversial Atlanta Public Safety Center Training Center in DeKalb County. The strong suspicion, as in previous cases, is the Stop Cop City forces are responsible for the act of vandalism.

Protests against the project, which have at times resulted in violence and vandalism, escalated after the fatal shooting in January of 26-year-old protester Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, known as Tortuguita. A prosecutor in October said he would not pursue charges against the state troopers who shot Paez Terán, saying he found that their use of deadly force was "objectively reasonable."

In August, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr indicted 61 protesters using the state's anti-racketeering law, characterizing them as "militant anarchists."

Currently, construction work on the project is around 40% complete. A federal judge is expected to hear arguments dealing with a petition signed by more than 116,000 Atlanta residents attempting to put the training center up for a vote.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.