Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Public Safety Training Center funding gets greenlight from finance committee
Funding approved for Atlanta training center
An Atlanta city committee approved funding for the site of the planned Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. This despite protesters’ last efforts to sway city leaders.
ATLANTA – Plans for a $90-million training center for Atlanta first responders took a step closer to becoming reality. A city council committee Wednesday approved funding for the site critics call “Cop City”. The vote comes as a well-organized campaign by detractors continue to call on city officials not to move forward with the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.
The finance committee voted 5-1 to approve a plan for Atlanta to pay its share of more than $30 million.
Committee member James Winston abstained and Committee member Liliana Bakhtiari was the sole “no” vote.
“My district does not want this. I still lack clarity on some of the funding aspects. [I have] a lot of questions that have not been answered,” Bakhtiari said. “The city did not do a good job of messaging around this. We gave out a lot of mixed information. We didn’t know who was driving this project. There were missed signals between different entities.”
Atlanta police want to build the training center near Intrenchment Creek Park in DeKalb County, sparking nearly two years of protests from people who opposed the facility.
Hundreds of critics crowded last week’s city council meeting to speak out against the training center. Far fewer members of the public showed up at the finance committee meeting, but they were just as impassioned.
“Dear god, stop Cop City,” said one opponent.
“Please save Welaunee. Please stop Cop City,” said another.
Dozens of officers lined the hallways at City Hall for Wednesday’s meeting. A row of seats in the council chamber, normally open to the public, had been blocked off.
Some speakers accused police of closing the seats to squelch public opposition.
“These seats have been marked as reserved for Atlanta Police Department,” said one critic. “They are currently empty and not available for citizens to sit in at this point. We see over 60 police officers in the atrium in response to people wanting to come and talk.”
Bakhtiari says council members should have handled the situation better.
“We did not need that many officers today. I appreciate them wanting to take our safety seriously. We did not need to do all of that. I don’t put that on the officers. I put that on all of us, better coordinating and communicating with each other. We put them in that position and we shouldn’t all the time. We should do a better job of planning,” said Bakhtiari.
A statement from APD stating it cannot release the number of officers at the meeting. APD says the seats were reserved for city employees and it was not responsible for the seating.
APD also says officers were at the meeting to ensure “an orderly environment and the safety of those exercising their First Amendment right.”
The plan goes to full council on June 5.
ATLANTA – A 17-year-old male is recovering after being shot in the foot on Christmas Eve, according to the Atlanta Police Department.
Officers responded to Grady Memorial Hospital around 10:39 p.m. on Dec. 24, after receiving a report of a gunshot victim. The teenager was being treated by medical staff for a gunshot wound to his left foot.
Preliminary information suggests the shooting may have occurred near 609 Thurmond Street NW. Investigators from the department’s Aggravated Assault Unit are working to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Authorities emphasized that details are subject to change as the investigation continues.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – An Atlanta police officer made a 12-year-old boy’s Christmas a little brighter this year.
On Monday, Officer Sebastian Kertchaval surprised 12-year-old Amir with a PlayStation 5, police said in a social media post.
Police said Kertchaval met Amir and his family over the summer while “responding to a 911 call for an unruly child.”
During that visit, Kertchaval saw that Amir was upset with his mother and grandmother.
“And though tensions were high in their home, Ofc. Kertchaval remained patient with Amir, and took the time to positively connect with Amir and was ultimately able to de-escalate the upset child,” police said.
Since that first meeting, Amir’s grandmother has kept Kertchaval updated on Amir’s “increasingly positive behavior throughout the year.”
After hearing of Amir’s progress, Kertchaval bought Amir a new PlayStation 5 for both Christmas and as a reward for his progress.
“Thank you, Officer Kertchaval, for your dedication to community policing and for being a positive example during this holiday season,” police said.
Copyright 2024 WANF. All rights reserved.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – You may experience order delays if you are headed to a Starbucks on Christmas Eve. Some workers in Metro Atlanta are on strike.
Representatives with Starbucks Workers United tell Atlanta News First they feel underpaid and understaffed and are protesting the lack of progress in contract negotiation with the company.
Starbucks union workers in Alpharetta are making their voices heard loud and clear. They allege unfair labor practices.
“When Starbucks workers first started to unionize, they gave non-union workers pay raises and the partners that were unionized didn’t get that until later and so they’re owed back pay,” said Danielle Stolton, Shift supervisor at the Alpharetta store.
Stolton said she has been a part of the bargaining process.
“Personally, last year was the worst year,” she said. “I had a mental breakdown, actually.”
Stolton and others planned this one-day strike to stand in solidarity with over 5,000 workers at more than 300 stores that are protesting.
Strikes have been going on in some places since last Friday. Some baristas said they want better pay and better benefits.
“I know baristas in my store personally who are having to choose between gas or groceries so when you see problems like that it’s really hard to not feel some type of way about the fact that Starbucks made 24 billion dollars in profit this year, two percent more than last year and we’re still seeing two percent pay raises,” said Vivek G, a Starbucks employee.
Starbucks Workers United said the company failed to honor a commitment made in February.
In a statement to Atlanta News First, Starbucks said:
“Only around 170 Starbucks stores did not open as planned. With over 10,000 company-operated stores, 98% of our stores and nearly 200,000 green apron partners continuing to operate and serve customers during the holidays,” the coffeechain added.
Some workers feel differently.
“It’s just basic living wages and also again to reiterate is just to have. We’re asking for minimum staffing and realistic expectations and just the ability to run our floors and run our stores in a way that makes the most sense. They say they want to hear us, they say they want to listen but every time we ask for help, we get told no,” Stolton said.
Copyright 2024 WANF. All rights reserved.
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