More than a hundred protesters dressed in black breached a proposed police and fire training center site in Atlanta on Sunday, burning vehicles and setting off fireworks toward officers stationed nearby, reports USA Today. The Atlanta Police Department said 35 people were detained, and accused the crowd of throwing bricks, large rocks and Molotov cocktails at police officers. No officers were injured, but several pieces of construction equipment were set on fire, said Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum. The incident took place at a planned training center that opponents call "Cop City," where a 26-year-old who went by the name Tortuguita was fatally shot and a state trooper was injured in January in what officers dubbed a self-defense shooting. “Actions such as this will not be tolerated,” Schierbaum said. “When you attack law enforcement officers, when you damage equipment, you are breaking the law.”
Video released by the department shows dozens of masked people dressed in all black scurrying around the site, some carrying what appear to be duffle bags and large shields. Investigators believe members of the crowd attended a nearby music festival before beginning what police called a “coordinated attack” at the site in DeKalb County. Groups that have protested the site view the planned center as an effort by Atlanta to “militarize” the police as well as a blow to the environment of the area, which they say should be preserved. Multiple law enforcement agencies were deployed to the area and detained several people, adding that officers "used non-lethal enforcement" to make arrests. Several local agencies and the Georgia State Patrol assisted Atlanta Police during the incident. Both the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and FBI were also notified and are assisting with the investigation. Authorities were expecting more protests planned this week.