Police clear people and reported hidden traps from park near ‘Cop City’ site in Atlanta

By Pamela Kirkland and Devon M. Sayers, CNN

Several syringes containing fentanyl and a Molotov cocktail were among several potentially dangerous items found during an operation to clear a public park in Atlanta Monday, local officials said.

DeKalb County police headed a multi-jurisdictional operation to clear unauthorized people, vehicles and purported “hidden traps” at Intrenchment Creek Park and secure its entrances with concrete barriers.

The park is situated near the site of a controversial proposed police and fire training center dubbed “Cop City” by its opponents.

Police confiscated “a Molotov cocktail, booby trap boards with rusty nails protruding out, and several syringes containing Fentanyl” during the operation, according to a new release from DeKalb County.

DeKalb County Police Chief Mirtha Ramos said the task force encountered three people during the clearing operation. One female was taken into custody while two other people chose to walk out, she said.

On Friday, the DeKalb County CEO closed the park via executive order due to what he called safety concerns after officials reported finding “life-threatening” hidden traps at the park.

“They confiscated booby traps, boards with nails that were hidden by leaves and underbrush. You could kill a small child or a pet with those,” Michael Thurmond told CNN.

The park is near the proposed site of a proposed $90 million, 85-acre training facility for police and firefighters. Activists have called the move to close the park an excuse to criminalize the climate activists working to preserve its green space. The park will be reopened to the public once it has been secured, the county said.

The planned facility near the park has received fierce pushback since its conception by residents who claim there was little public input, conservationists who worry it will carve out a chunk of much-needed forest land and activists who say it will militarize police forces and contribute to further instances of police brutality.

The opposition to the project has resulted in fiery protests and scores of activists being charged with domestic terrorism.

Tensions between law enforcement and protesters have continued to rise since the January shooting death of a protester, who law enforcement says fired on officers first and seriously wounded a state trooper. The family of the protester, Manuel Paez Terán, has called on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to release witness statements and evidence, it said in a statement to CNN.

Paez Terán’s hands were raised when law enforcement officers opened fire, an autopsy commissioned by the activist’s family found, attorneys said.

Thurmond, the county CEO, said he “understands the pushback against Cop City, but this is too far,” referring to the reported booby traps.

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CNN’s Nick Valencia and Eric Levenson contributed to this report.