2 arrested in training center protest at Midtown construction site

Two people were arrested Wednesday after locking themselves to a crane 144 feet in the air at a Midtown construction site in protest of Atlanta’s planned public safety training center.

It was the third time in three months that activists have used reinforced pipes to lock themselves to equipment at Midtown work sites connected to contractors involved in the construction of the training facility at the site of the old Atlanta Prison Farm in DeKalb County.

“Stop it,” said Atlanta police Chief Darin Schierbaum, addressing the activist groups after Wednesday’s protesters were cut free.

“The citizens of Atlanta should not be your pawn for politics,” he added. “We’re going to build a public safety training center. We’re gonna keep this city safe. Stop it.”

Atlanta fire crews and police SWAT teams were called at around 6 a.m. to remove the two people, identified as 23-year-old Parker Demos and 22-year-old Frederick Hetzel, from the crane at a Brasfield & Gorrie site at Edge Hill Avenue and Watkins Street. The location is just off Howell Mill Road.

A group of co-activists had already gathered in the street starting at around 4:30 a.m., and the demonstration prompted the closure of a few side streets, but Howell Mill Road remained open. Demos and Hetzel were cut free by 9:45 a.m.

They were both arrested and face charges of criminal trespass, false imprisonment, obstruction and reckless conduct.

Those opposed to the training center have said its construction will damage the South River Forest and contribute to what they believe is the militarization of the police department. City officials have said the facility, which is set to open later this year, is vital to maintaining well-trained police and fire departments.

“This morning at 144 feet off the ground, you saw the training and the dedication and the commitment of your first responders at work,” Schierbaum said. “Atlanta Fire and Rescue and the Atlanta Police Department using their training to get two individuals out of a very unsafe and dangerous situation, and they did it flawlessly.”

“Those skill sets were there because of training,” he added.

Protesters Wednesday and during the two previous demonstrations used a device that authorities call a “sleeping dragon” to lock their arms around the equipment. The device is made by placing an individual’s hands inside PVC pipes that are then bound together and wrapped in other materials to make it difficult for authorities to cut through and remove them from protest sites.

Activists in metro Atlanta and other major U.S. cities have targeted companies involved in the building of the center, and the group has said they are “just getting started,” according to statements released with each protest.

Earlier this month, an activist was locked to a construction elevator at another Brasfield & Gorrie work site along Peachtree Street between 17th and West Peachtree streets. And in January, two protesters locked themselves to equipment at a separate Brasfield & Gorrie site at 12th and Juniper streets. Streets surrounding the sites were closed for hours in each incident.

Protesters in both cases were arrested on charges of criminal trespassing.

Also in January, four pieces of equipment were set ablaze at a townhome construction site linked to another subcontractor.

“While we have no problem with members utilizing their First Amendment rights to speak, what we do have a problem with is tying up emergency resources unnecessarily that prohibit us from responding to other incidents in the city,” fire Chief Roderick Smith said.

“We are glad to be of service this morning to any citizen in need, but publicity stunts should not be done that puts the city in jeopardy,” Schierbaum said.

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