Protest Scheduled for Today at 1 p.m. at Atlanta City Hall to Call for Defunding and Dismantling of Atlanta Police Department

A press release from Black Futurists Group:

Following the death of another Black man, Rayshard Brooks, at the hands of Atlanta police due to inaction from political leadership at city hall, protestors, community organizers, and members of the Mayor’s Taskforce to Reimagine the Atlanta City Detention Center (ACDC) will converge on the steps of City Hall (68 Mitchell Street, Atlanta, 30303) Today, Monday, June 15th at 1:00pm to call on council members and the mayor to take immediate action towards the defunding and dismantling of the Atlanta Police Department (APD) and the creation of a new community-based, community controlled public safety system.

Organizers will be at city hall calling on council and the Mayor to take the following actions in support of Black life:

1. DEFUND THE ATLANTA POLICE DEPARTMENT & REALLOCATE THE RESOURCES: APD has failed to improve public safety and wellness. Attempts to curb police violence through increased trainings have been ineffective. To dismantle and replace a department that has proven ineffective at carrying out its mandate and is nonresponsive to reforms, a plan should be created for defunding APD and reallocating the resources to more effective, community based strategies for reducing crime and increasing safety.

2. DEFUND & DEMOLISH THE JAIL: As long as the Atlanta City Detention Center remains open, APD will have reason to fill it with Atlantans. Every day the jail remains open, Atlantans are at risk for further harassment, violence, and death at the hands of APD. Closing the jail and demolishing it moves Atlanta further from violent policing and closer to equity, freedom, and wellness.

3. JUSTICE FOR OUR PEOPLE. For far too long the city of Atlanta has stood by and watched while APD has taken the lives of Atlantans, often under questionable circumstances. APD must be held accountable for the lives it has taken and officers held responsible for these killings. Failing to address the past police killings of Oscar Cain, Alexia Christian, DeAundre Phillps, Deravis Rogers, and Jimmy Atchison has accumulated distrust in the City of Atlanta’s value of Black Life.

These recommendations to defund and dismantle APD are supported by several organizations including: Women on the Rise, Solutions NOT Punishment Collaborative, GA NAACP, Black Futurists Group, Southerners on New Ground, Georgia Detention Watch, Southern Center for Human Rights, SURJ ATL, Working Families Party, Just Georgia, and GLAHR. Click this link to see the full list of demands.