美国国家公共电台 NPR--Atlanta's City Council to vote on funding for a controversial police training center

Atlanta's City Council to vote on funding for a controversial police training center

Transcript¹

Extra security is planned Monday for when council members are expected to vote on whether to fund a proposed police training center. The controversial center has prompted protests.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Officials in Atlanta, Georgia, are closing some city hall offices and taking other precautions today ahead of a crucial funding vote for a controversial police training center. This comes days after three activists³ involved in the fight against a proposed project dubbed⁴ Cop City were arrested. Peter Biello with Georgia Public Broadcasting is with us now to tell us more. Good morning, Peter.

PETER BIELLO, BYLINE⁵: Good morning.

MARTIN: So let me start with this training center. I said that it's controversial. Why is that?

BIELLO: Well, this public safety training center - it's a $90 million facility for first responders, including police and fire, in a forested area in southeast Atlanta. And it is big. It's 85 acres. And it's not just for Atlanta. The city plans to rent it out to first responders from across the country. It was approved by the city council two years ago. And since then, it's faced protests. At one of those, a protester was killed by state troopers. And that's still under investigation⁶. So you have environmentalists who are worried about the forest. And then there are those who don't want this anywhere. They say the police are violent, and this will make them even more militarized. Part of this facility includes a mock city to train in urban environments. And that inspires the name protesters have given the project, Cop City.

MARTIN: I understand that police used SWAT officers last week to arrest some protest organizers. Would you just tell us more about that whole incident and tell us more about the folks who were arrested?

BIELLO: Sure. Atlanta police and the GBI arrested three people who were running a bail⁷ fund called the Atlanta Solidarity⁸ Fund. They say these organizers engaged in charity fraud and money laundering⁹. Their defenders¹⁰ say they did these things, the things most nonprofit organizers do, just reimburse¹¹ people for overhead, in this case COVID tests, yard signs and gas, things like that. And now they got bail on Friday. And the judge said about the charges that there wasn't a lot of meat on the bone. After the arrest, though, Republican Governor Brian Kemp said these fundraisers are part of a criminal operation.

MARTIN: But why such a heavy police presence for an alleged¹² charity fraud case?

BIELLO: That's a good question. I asked the GBI and the Atlanta police, and they wouldn't tell me. But, you know, this fund has been used to pay for the defense¹³ of people arrested after a protest in March that turned violent. A group of protesters threw Molotov cocktails¹⁴ and set fire to construction equipment. They were charged with domestic terrorism, a rare charge under Georgia state law. And this bail fund has been helping¹⁵ to fight those charges. So the optics of arresting the bail fund organizers matter here. Some say it's an attempt to scare protesters. Kamau Franklin is an activist² with the group Community Movement Builders who often rallies with the protesters.

KAMAU FRANKLIN: The fact that they're trying to take away a bail fund which has supported protesters and organizers is directly linked to their attempt to stifle¹⁶ dissent¹⁷, to chill dissent and to take away people's First Amendment¹⁸ rights to protest and to feel safe enough to protest.

MARTIN: So in the minute we have left, Peter, tell us what the city council is voting on today.

BIELLO: So councilors are voting on whether to approve $31 million from the city of Atlanta for this facility. Another 60 million is supposed to come from the Atlanta Police Foundation, an independent nonprofit that supports policing in Atlanta, though some of that will be repaid. The arrests in the court hearing Friday may have had an effect on some of the council members. Mayor Andre Dickens is fully¹⁹ behind the training center. He says Atlanta police need it. But city council member Liliana Bakhtiari says she's going to vote against it. She says the city's approval process has lacked transparency.

LILIANA BAKHTIARI: We could have done this much differently. And in the way that it's been conducted - without sensitivity, without openness - has led there to be a very deep divide in our city.

BIELLO: And that divide is likely to be on display at this meeting today. Protesters and police are expected to show up in large numbers.

MARTIN: That's Peter Biello with Georgia Public Broadcasting. Peter, thank you.

BIELLO: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

8 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

9 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 reimburse   

v.补偿，付还

参考例句：

• We'll reimburse you for your travelling expenses.我们将付还你旅费。
• The funds are supposed to reimburse policyholders in the event of insurer failure.这项基金将在保险公司不能偿付的情况下对投保人进行赔付。

12 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

13 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

14 cocktails   

n.鸡尾酒( cocktail的名词复数 )；餐前开胃菜；混合物

参考例句：

• Come about 4 o'clock. We'll have cocktails and grill steaks. 请四点钟左右来，我们喝鸡尾酒，吃烤牛排。 来自辞典例句
• Cocktails were a nasty American habit. 喝鸡尾酒是讨厌的美国习惯。 来自辞典例句

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

16 stifle   

vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止

参考例句：

• She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
• It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。

17 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

18 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

19 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。