Atlanta, GA
Reward increased for arrests of ‘anarchists’ who torched Atlanta police motorcycles
ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta’s police chief on Tuesday urged the public to come forward with information about those who set police motorcycles on fire last month in protest over the planned construction of a public safety training center that critics call “Cop City.”
Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said the vandals have been using “violence, intimidation and fear” to stop the facility’s construction, attacking police vehicles as well as contractors’ construction equipment. Authorities held a news conference to release surveillance photos of “persons of interest” and to announce that the reward for information leading to the culprits’ arrests has been increased from $15,000 to $60,000.
Schierbaum said more than 40 police vehicles were targeted at Atlanta police’s current training center in south Atlanta early July 1. Ultimately, eight motorcycles were set alight and a police officer intervened before more damage could occur, Schierbaum said.
“Had (all) these vehicles been set on fire, the entire precinct would have been ignited,” the police chief said.
About an hour before that attack, vandals had smashed the windows of police vehicles at another location. Authorities believe the group wanted to set those vehicles on fire as well but were spotted by a bystander.
Mayor Andre Dickens and others say the planned $90 million training center would replace outdated training facilities and help address difficulties in hiring and retaining police officers that worsened after 2020’s nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice.
Opponents say they worry the facility will lead to greater militarization of the police and that its construction will exacerbate environmental damage in a poor, majority-Black area. Activists have been working to collect more than 70,000 signatures to force a referendum on building the project.
“For those that have legitimate concerns about the construction of a training center, how tax dollars are used, green space usage, we will continue as a department to protect those First Amendment rights,” Schierbaum said.
He added: “This is not about the protection of the First Amendment. This is intimidation, this is fear, this is destruction, and this is targeting key assets that protect this city.”
The Vote to Stop Cop City Coalition issued a statement after the news conference, decrying the lack of “accountability” for the January “murder” of 26-year-old protester Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, known as Tortuguita. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has said state troopers fired in self-defense after Paez Terán shot at them while they cleared protesters from a wooded area near the site of the proposed facility. But the troopers involved weren’t wearing body cameras, and activists have questioned the official narrative.
“While Atlanta elites focus on limited property damage, tens of thousands of Atlantans are focused on actual violence by the state and have demanded the right to reject this deeply unpopular waste of public funds,” the statement read.
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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