Real cost of ‘Cop City’ under question after Atlanta approves millions of dollars for project

Opponents call process ‘anti-democratic’ after public participation in council meeting difficult and lack of transparency

Questions remain about the real cost of the giant police and fire department training center known as “Cop City” after the Atlanta city council’s approval of millions of dollars for the project in a process that opponents have called “anti-democratic”.

The 11-4 vote in favor of giving $67m to the project on Tuesday morning came on the heels of 14 hours of public comment against the idea. It played out as city policies made public participation in the council meeting more difficult, and after several council members decided to reject postponing a decision on the money, apparently because they were tired of facing public questioning.