For the past couple of months, fearful protestors have been trying to stop Atlanta from expanding its emergency response training center, you may ask yourself: What is cop city? Atlanta has a plan to build an emergency response training center which would be equivalent to 1,000 acres of woodlands. The project would cost about 90 million to operate its expansion.
According to the center’s website, the center will include an auditorium for police/fire training and public training, a mock city for burn building and urban police training, an emergency vehicle operator course, and a K-9 kennel for training officers. The first phase of the training center is scheduled to open in late 2023. The protesters are environmentalists who fear the project will accelerate the militarization of the police. This is where the term ‘Cop City’ was invented.
Numerous protesters have committed crimes of vandalism and arson. For instance, 23 people have been arrested for allegedly hurling bricks, rocks, fireworks, and Molotov cocktails at police officers near the facility site. 23 out of the 35 protesters have been charged with domestic terrorism. Protests have been held throughout the city and in states such as Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania due to increased protestor numbers each day.
It is important to remember that these protests can result in violence. Now you may ask yourself: How do I protect myself from the protestors? One can protect themselves by using the OPTU System. With the OPTU System, you have a state-of-the-art system to protect yourself and others in an emergency. For instance, the OPTU system teaches us how to use situational awareness in these situations like the Cop City protests. When using situational awareness, it is important to know where “your feet are”. As a result, one can be better equipped to determine where their nearest exit is in case the situation turns chaotic.
If you want to learn about situational awareness and other skills, OPTU offers a course: called “Smart Response to Active Emergencies.” This course will give you and your team members the skills and knowledge they need to improve their emergency response to active workplace violence. Check the following link to see if this training suits your workplace. https://optu.com/e-response/
