Atlanta Police say attempted arson at Kirkwood townhome development tied to ‘Cop City’ opponents

Atlanta Police are searching for arsonists they say set fire to construction equipment at a Kirkwood townhome development site to protest the city’s controversial public safety training center.

Police and Atlanta Fire Rescue officials were called about 2 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 14, to a fire report at 2015 Memorial Drive SE on the border of the Kirkwood and Parkview neighborhoods. The site is where about 80 new townhomes are under development.

Some burn marks was seen on an excavator at the construction site. Police recovered three makeshift incendiary devices used to start a fire, Chief Darin Schierbaum said at a press conference at the site. There are at least two suspects who sneaked onto the construction site and then fled into surrounding neighborhoods, police said.

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Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at least two suspects are believed to have set a fire at a construction site off Memorial Drive early Aug. 14.

Credit: Dyana Bagby

Nobody was injured during the fire, but the blaze was set near a large fuel tank filled with gasoline, Schierbaum said. Had the fire burned bigger and reached the tank, many people in the area would have been in danger, he said.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is a ticking time bomb,” the chief said. “These arson attacks continue. And in the manner that they’re escalating in populated areas, someone is going to lose their life. We have a dangerous crew of individuals that have shown their intent to harm Atlanta, and have shown their intent to make the city less safe by stopping the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.”

No person or group has taken credit for the alleged arson, but Schierbaum said he was confident the suspects were tied to those opposed to the public safety training center.

A $200,000 reward is still available for information leading to the arrest of individuals who have set arson fires related to the training center. Anyone with information on the Aug. 14 fire is asked to call the Georgia Arson Control tip line at 1-800-282-5804 or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS.

Opponents of the training center say building the complex would only lead to more police militarization and violence against Black and brown people. They also accuse the city of environmental racism for building the training center in a majority Black neighborhood.

The Stop Cop City coalition also collected more than 100,000 signatures last summer in an effort to get a referendum on the ballot to allow voters to decide the fate of the training center. A decision on whether the referendum can go forward has been mired in a federal appeals court since last fall.

City and state officials have argued a new public safety training center for police and firefighters is needed to replace rundown facilities. They also argue the new facility is needed to recruit and retain police officers. The Atlanta Police Department, like many departments across the country, saw an exodus of officers following national protests against police brutality in 2020 sparked by the murder of George Floyd.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Rough Draft Atlanta.