New drone footage shows aerial views of controversial $90 million first-responder training center 'Cop City' outside Atlanta where police deployed stun grenades and tear gas

New drone footage shows the giant 85-acre site of the $90 million 'Cop City' training center outside Atlanta that has been the center of violent protests this year. 

The aerial video shows the vast site cleared of trees with bulldozed roads and the foundations of buildings in place.

The project - which is designed to provide a training ground for emergency services - has been met by fierce backlash from anti-police and environmental activists.  

A series of protests have turned violent this year and peaked in January after a protestor was shot dead by a Georgia state trooper after the activist opened fire. 

In November, officers and protestors fought again with more than 500 people marching on the site and being met with tear gas and riot police. 

Aerial footage shows the site the city of Atlanta is building for a new public safety training center

According to the mayor of Atlanta, police and firefighters are currently using 'insufficient and aging facilities that impede proper training'

The enormous construction project was announced in November 2021 and is expected to open after a difficult two-year process. 

It will have extensive facilities, including a mock city and fire station, so emergency services can better train their staff. 

But the project has faced fierce opposition since it was announced, with the decentralized 'Stop Cop City' movement galvanizing protesters from across the country.

Anti-police protestors have expressed concern that the facility will lead to a bigger militarized police force.

Meanwhile environmentalists argue its construction in the South River Forest will lead to worse environmental damage in a poor, largely black area.

Opposition grew in the wake of the January fatal police shooting of Manuel Paez Terán, a 26-year-old activist known as 'Tortuguita' who had been camping in the woods of the proposed project. 

In October, a prosecutor opted not to charge the state troopers who fatally shot Terán, saying he found their use of deadly force to be 'objectively reasonable.'

His death deepened further the rift between the protestors and authorities overseeing the project. 

Police and protestors clash during a demonstration against the new police training facility outside of Atlanta

In a sweeping indictment last summer, Georgia's attorney general classified the radical protestors as 'militant anarchists'

Campaigners say building the city is a gross misuse of public funds.

Atlanta councilmembers agreed to approve $31 million in public funds for the site's construction, as well as a provision that requires the city to pay $36 million - $1.2 million a year over 30 years - for using the facility.

The rest of the funding is coming from private donations to the police force.  

At a public meeting about the site, Emory University religion professor Sara McClintock took to the podium and pleaded with council members to reject, or at least rethink, the training center.

'We don't want it,' McClintock said. 'We don't want it because it doesn't contribute to life. It's not an institution of peace. It's not a way forward for our city that we love.'

In November, nearly 60 people were indicted on racketeering charges stemming from the protests.

Georgia's Attorney General, Chris Carr, obtained a sweeping indictment in August by applying the state's anti-racketeering law to target protestors who were characterized as 'militant anarchists.' 

The RICO charges being applied to some of the militant protestors carry a sentence of five to 20 years. Most of those indicted on the racketeering charges had previously been charged with other crimes related to the movement.

Among the defendants are more than three dozen people who previously faced domestic terrorism charges in connection to the protests. Also charged were three leaders of a bail fund previously; and three activists were charged with felony intimidation.

The activist groups are protesting construction of an 85-acre police training facility planned to be built in forestlands southeast of Atlanta, Georgia

There's an emergency vehicle driving course where Atlanta Fire Rescue personnel will practice moving engines and ladder apparatus and police officers will learn how to maneuver through city streets

The City of Atlanta Police Department shared the new drone footage on their Facebook page in December, saying: 'Take a look at new images of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. 

'You can see where roads are going in place. 

'There’s an emergency vehicle driving course where Atlanta Fire Rescue personnel will practice moving engines and ladder apparatus and police officers will learn how to maneuver through city streets.' 

They added: 'The new center will allow sworn officers, civilian responders, firefighters, EMS, and E-911 staff to train locally and collaboratively, using modern philosophies and methodologies rooted in harm reduction.'

According to the Mayor of Atlanta, both departments are currently using 'insufficient and aging facilities that impede proper training.'