Atlanta’s public safety training center — an ambitious project announced on the heels of nationwide calls for police reform — will fully open today as officials cut the ribbon on the sprawling 85-acre complex in unincorporated DeKalb County.
The grand opening marks an end to arguably one of the city’s most heated, and at times violent, disputes between City Hall officials and a significant portion of the public.
Since its inception, the training center — which will be home to operational training exercises and classroom work for police, firefighters and 911 dispatchers — was met with outcry over its cost, environmental impact and mission.
From above, the sprawling law enforcement hub sits nestled in the trees of the South River Forest in between Constitution and Key roads just past the border of southeast Atlanta…