SafeX Pro Exchange|Ping pong balls thrown at Atlanta city council members in protest of mayor, 'Cop City'

Protesters threw ping pong balls at Atlanta City Council members and SafeX Pro Exchangechanted "You dropped the ball" in opposition to Mayor Andre Dickens and a pricey training center for law enforcement.

The "Stop Cop City" group attended the city council meeting on Monday to "demand (their) voices be heard," according to the protesters' Instagram post. The group is opposing the construction of a $90 million Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, of which they are requesting a referendum be placed on the ballot to decide the fate of the 85-acre facility.

"At any time, (Andre Dickens') office can drop its appeal, or the Council can just pass a resolution to place it on the ballot themselves," the protesters' Instagram post says. "We need to make clear that we won’t stand by as they subvert democracy right before our eyes."

On the ping pong balls was the number 116,000, which represents the over 116,000 signatures the group gathered to enact the referendum.

"Thanks to the hard work and dedication of people like you, we collected over 116,000 signatures, more than double the number city officials required to enact the referendum," according to the Instagram post. "So what happened? One year later, the boxes full of petitions are still sitting in the clerk’s office where we left them."

A federal lawsuit was filed by the group regarding the facility, but it remains pending despite the project's expected December completion date.

"When we first launched this effort, Mayor Dickens promised he wouldn’t intervene and would allow democracy to prevail," the protestor's social media post says. "In reality, his administration has impeded our efforts at every turn, silencing the voices of thousands. They are hoping that we will forget about it and move on. Not on our watch!"

USA TODAY contacted Dickens' office on Tuesday but did not receive a response.

'We do have the power to do that'

After the about 20-minute demonstration, council members discussed the protesters' request, including city council member Michael Julian Bond who told Fox 5, "We do have the power to do that."

"We’re building a building, and they are saying that we’re militarizing and that there is a philosophy of militarization, but that can be addressed via policy," Bond said, per the TV station.

Bond also indicated the need for the center due to the current facility being old.

"Our existing facility is 70 years old, it’s full of OSHA violations. It needs to be replaced…period," Bond said, per Fox 5. "We have to provide decent facilities for the people that we employ." 

'Cop City' sustained $10 million worth of damages from arson attempts, other crimes

The facility, which has been dubbed by Dickens as "Cop City," has sustained $10 million worth of damages due to various arson attempts and other destructive behaviors, the mayor said in April during a news conference. Construction equipment and police vehicles have been set on fire or damaged, he added.

“They do not want Atlanta to have safety,” Dickens said about the protesters during the news conference. “They do not care about peace or about our communities. These acts of destruction must end. They must stop.”

Deputy Chief Operating Officer LaChandra Burks said in January that the estimated cost of the facility increased from $90 million to $109.6 million due to the "intensity of the attacks in opposition, according to a city news release. " The increase includes $6 million for additional security and $400,000 for insurance increases, officials said, adding that neither the city nor Atlanta taxpayers will be responsible for the $19.6 million in incremental costs.

By January, there had been more than 80 criminal instances and over 173 arrests concerning the training center, the city said in the release. Of these criminal instances, 23 were acts of arson that resulted in the destruction of 81 pieces of equipment and buildings across 23 states, including the destruction of Atlanta Police Department motorcycles and a firebombing at the At-Promise Center, a local youth crime diversion program, according to city officials.