'Cop City' organizers hit with legal challenge after collecting 116K signatures in favor of a referendum

Organizers stand on the steps of Atlanta City Hall on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, before submitting 116,000 signatures to force a referendum on Atlanta's planned public safety training center, dubbed "Cop City." (Juma Sei/WABE)

Opponents of Atlanta’s controversial public safety training center said they collected more than 116,000 signatures to force a referendum on the project they’ve dubbed “Cop City.”

A group gathered to deliver the petitions at Atlanta City Hall on Monday, Sept. 11.

The initial goal had been to collect 70,000 signatures — or 15% of Atlanta’s registered voters as of the last election. But, organizer Mary Hooks said, the movement saw mass mobilization.