$15K Reward Offered In Attacks On Atlanta Police Facilities

ATLANTA, GA — A $15,000 reward is being offered for information relating to two attacks on Atlanta Police facilities Saturday, one of which damaged eight police motorcycles after a fire at the department's Southside Industrial precinct.

Protesters of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center are being accused in both attacks in what is being called "The Week of Action." Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens noted at a Wednesday news conference the protesters accused in these cases are not associated with the peaceful protesters of the training center.

The Southside Industrial incident is being investigated as arson, Atlanta Fire Chief Rod Smith said. The precinct is a dual-purpose facility, housing a training center and the APD's Special Operations division.

AFD crews responded around 2:15 a.m, and when they arrived, they found several police motorcycles on fire. Smith said incendiary devices were used to start the fire.

There were no injuries in the blaze, and Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said the intent was to set all 40 of the police motorcycles on fire. The motorcycles belong to APD, MARTA Police and the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.

"Had all 40 vehicles caught on fire, that police facility would've been gravely damaged, if not destroyed in the fire," Schierbaum said, "and we are thankful for our police officers that saw this unfolding and likely interrupted that plan from being able to play out in its fullest."

Just an hour before the attack on the Southside Industrial site, an attempt to set the APD's Memorial Drive facility on fire was thwarted by a citizen, Schierbaum said. The precinct patrols the Atlanta BeltLine.

The windows of multiple police vehicles were broken into, he said, adding the goal was to set the vehicles on fire.

Schierbaum said during the incident, "a citizen observed the criminal acts in progress and actually interrupted the crimes that were occurring there."

At the news conference, Dickens said there is no excuse to destroy public property.

"Collectively, these have been some of the most significant attacks on our city and our nation in the past year," Dickens said. “... Folks, this is serious.”

Schierbaum said the attacks not only impacted the APD but also neighborhoods protected by the police department and visitors of Atlanta.

Atlanta Crime Stoppers is offering $10,000 while the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering $5,000 for information leading to arrests in both cases. Tipsters can call Crime Stoppers at (404) 577-8477 and the ATF's tip line at 1 (888) 283-8477.

Special Agent in Charge Ben Gibbons of the ATF's Atlanta Division said the agency is offering its resources and certified fire investigators to the APD. Evidence from the cases will also be processed in the ATF labs.

Along with the ATF and the local fire department, the APD is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in both probes.

RELATED: DeKalb DA Withdraws From Prosecuting Atlanta Training Center Arrests

Beyond the APD

The protesters accused in these incidents are also accused of trying to force out contractors for the $90 million Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, which is set to open in the fourth quarter of 2024 and will be overseen by the Atlanta Police Foundation.

Schierbaum accused the protesters of recently targeting three separate private residences. He said tires were flattened on a contractor's home, a home for a Brasfield & Gorrie executive was vandalized and graffiti "used to intimidate" was found at another location.

He added equipment belonging to Brent Scarbrough and Co., which he said has a key role in work at the training center, was set on fire shortly after 7 a.m. Tuesday in the 400 block of McDonough Blvd.

"These acts are of a small determined group that does not represent a wider population," Schierbaum said. "These are (...) individuals from across the country that are using violence and fear and intimidation to stop a public safety training center that trains firefighters and police officers to save lives, and the effort of law enforcement is committed to stop this."

RELATED: Midtown Bank Protester Charged With Simple Assault, Obstruction

The training center has been at the forefront of a battle between law enforcement and protesters who are against the building of the center for environmental concerns. Atlanta city officials have promised to protect the forest in the building of the center.

A downtown protest commenced days after the shooting of a Georgia State Patrol trooper and the killing of the person suspected of shooting the trooper in a Jan. 18 protest against the construction of the training center near Constitution Road in East Atlanta.

Three people were charged in late May for money laundering in connection with financial crimes at the future training center site. The GBI told Patch at the time no additional information was available on the financial crimes.

A woman was arrested in late June and accused of throwing spoiled meat at Atlanta police officers during a protest at a West Peachtree Street bank. Fox 5 Atlanta reported the bank loaned money to the Atlanta Police Foundation.

The Atlanta City Council voted on June 6 with an 11-4 vote to approve construction for the public safety training center, the Atlanta Journal Constitution previously reported. Taxpayers in the City of Atlanta will allocate $67 million toward the center, according to the outlet.

Information about the public safety facility is available here.