🦄 Eco , 🦄 Police

‘Stop Cop City’ Week of Action Day 7: Cadence Bank ‘Drop The Loan’ Protest, Panel on Overpolicing

By Unicorn Riot

Atlanta, GA — The ‘Week of Action’ against ‘Cop City’ continued Friday with a protest outside the offices of Cadence Bank in Midtown Atlanta, which is providing a construction loan to the Atlanta Police Foundation for the building of ‘Cop City.’ Friday evening, a panel hosted by ‘Hip Hop Caucus’ discussed the past and present of overpolicing — from Atlanta’s militarized Red Dog Unit to ‘Cop City.’

During the rally at the bank, protesters chanted, held banners and briefly attempted to enter the locked building entrance to speak with Cadence Bank representatives.

At least a dozen Atlanta Police officers were seen coordinating with the office building’s private security employees. Police responded by lining up outside the building’s entrance and facing the two dozen or so protesters assembled on the sidewalk. After about 45 minutes of making noise and taking up space outside the 1349 W Peachtree office building, the group marched around the area before dispersing.

Protesters link arms in front of Cadence Bank in Midtown Atlanta on Friday.

During the short protest, police working with building security repeatedly threatened to arrest protesters and journalists for stepping on the bottom step of the small stairway connecting the sidewalk to the building. However, no arrests took place — unlike an earlier similar protest at the same Cadence Bank location on Wednesday, July 28, when police chased and tackled several protesters as they were dispersing, arresting one.

A speaking event Friday evening examined the historical continuity of racist and violent policing in Atlanta. The ‘town hall’ event was hosted by Hip Hop Caucus, and had panelists from Community Movement Builders, Southern Center for Human Rights, Black Men Build and Black Male Initiative Georgia.

#StopCopCity Week of Action Panel: Dirty South’s History of Overpolicing Atlanta
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Categories: Eco, Police
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Published June 30, 2023
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