ATLANTA — A midtown Atlanta street was shut down Monday after officials say two protesters chained themselves to construction equipment.
Protesters of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center confirmed Monday morning that two of their fellow activists locked themselves to equipment at the Brasfield and Gorrie work site on 12th and Juniper.
Brasfield & Gorrie is one of the head contractors for the Atlanta Public Training Center. The construction company is also a donor to the Atlanta Police Foundation.
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According to The Atlanta Journal Constitution, the activists used what police call a “sleeping dragon” to lock their arms around the equipment. “The device is made by placing an individual’s hands inside pipes that are bound together with other materials to make it more difficult for authorities to cut through and remove them from protest sites,” The AJC’s Rosana Hughes and John Spink report.
“Both activists were arrested and face criminal trespassing charges,” Hughes and Spink add.
As the scene unfolded Monday, a large group of Atlanta Public Safety Training Center protesters cheered on the two chained-up members from across the street.
Atlanta Public Training Center protesters previously targeted Brasfield & Gorrie after a group of protesters vandalized the contractor’s offices in Cobb County.
This is the second incident within a week involving a company that has worked on the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center after construction equipment belonging to Empire Zephyr was set on fire off Burroughs Street last week.
“It belongs to a private contractor, but more importantly, I need to drive home the point that we are in the communities of the city of Atlanta. We are close to private homes where families live. And we have arson events that are occurring. This has got to stop,” Atlanta Fire Chief Roderick Smith said at a press conference Friday.
95.5 WSB has reported on more than a dozen acts of vandalism against contractors or agencies in metro Atlanta.
Atlanta police and state law enforcement announced in 2023 a reward amount of up to $200,000 for tips leading to an arrest.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution contributed to this story
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