As cops crack down on protesters across the country, concerns about militarized policing strategies continue to mount. The “Stop Cop City” movement, which grew from a three-year blockade of a massive police training facility near Atlanta, has emerged nationwide as one response to the issue. Signs of this movement’s spread can be seen via stickers embellishing Seattle stop signs and, more unusually, at recent protests in the small city of Lacey, WA, where the town recently broke ground on a new police station and regional training facility.
But is the facility in Lacey really a “cop city”? And for those opposed to expanding the police state, is it to stop it?
STOP COP CITY
On February 5, thirty protesters showed up at the groundbreaking ceremony for Lacey’s long-planned police station due to the casual addition of an entirely separate regional training facility building.
As city council members and police donned symbolic hard hats and shovels for a photo op, demonstrators shattered the staged scene with chants of, “No cops; no prisons! Total abolition!” Some wielded signs that read, “STOP COP CITY,” while other signs read, “Fund housing, not police,” indicating dissonance between the City’s priorities and the public’s.
Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders said that the protests were too little, too late. “It’s a little late once we start putting shovels in the ground,” he told KING 5 News.
Lacey’s new police station has been publicly discussed in city council meetings and in other forums since 2019. Citing Lacey’s growing population and limitations to the current police station building, the City says that it lacks the space to accommodate its predicted needs.
But the opportunity for Lacey to host a regional police hub first arose at a Thurston County Regional Coalition work session, said Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder. “I remember having a conversation at one of our work sessions over this, and I remember the chief bringing up the idea of having this training facility [in Lacey] and immediately my ears perked up,” he said.
In early 2022, the council approved a memorandum of understanding with St. Martin’s Abbey to allow the City to acquire 12 acres of forested property for the project. That agreement describes a police station, emergency management operations, and, finally, a police training center.
Final project specs show the police station nestled in the hillside of the property, rising two stories and spanning 48,600 square feet. The 15,000-square-foot training center will be standalone so that the station can accommodate more space for things like evidence storage and confidential interviews, in addition to offering a “more welcoming” lobby.
Inside, the training building will house an eight-lane firing range, an armory with gun-cleaning facilities, shell and site work training space, a digital training simulation room, defensive tactics training, and a large classroom for multipurpose use.
In recent meetings, local lawmakers say the training center would contribute to better training and collaboration between law enforcement in the region. They also think the development of both the new police station and the training facility will generate new jobs and help address western WA’s proported police shortage.
The “Cop City” Comparison
Including the $4 million land purchase, design, construction, and other costs, the City pegs the price tag for both facilities at $61.5 million. By comparison, the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center is shaping up to be much larger, spanning 85 acres in the middle of the Weelaunee Forest—the largest green space in the Atlanta area—and costing a whopping $109.65 million. That facility also includes “an explosives testing area, over twelve firing ranges, a Black Hawk helicopter landing pad, a training center to practice crowd control, a driving course for police to practice chases, and a ‘mock village’ with a hotel/nightclub and convenience store,” according to the Boston Review.
Lacey Council Member Lenny Greenstein said he hopes the City can offset some of the operations costs through partnerships with other agencies from across the region, including the Washington State Patrol, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, and neighboring cities “who are clearly going to want to use this facility because there is nothing like it in the area.”
Public Concerns about Transparency and Priorities
The City plans to use a mix of bonds and general fund reserves to pay for the project, a funding strategy that, incidentally, allowed them to move forward without needing a public vote. Beyond city council meetings, the use of that strategy meant the training center’s funding approval process did not need to be communicated to the public, a fact that became a large point of contention for the community members who oppose the facility today.
Local grassroots organizer Greg Urquhart said he is one of many locals who believes the City’s funding strategy intentionally excluded public involvement to avoid “any potential speed bumps” on the path to construction.
“It looks like they passed this right before Christmas, when nobody was available to go to their city council meeting,” he said, referring to Lacey’s Dec 21, 2023 city council meeting. Only two city employees attended the meeting at the time of the approval.
As evidenced by recordings throughout the process, Lacey City Council meetings have seen a sharp decrease in public participation overall throughout the pandemic. Pre-pandemic, when the public opposed something, they sat in the front row with large signs and returned repeatedly to speak on the matter. Throughout 2023, dust gathered on the public’s seats as city officials indulged in their dreams of making Lacey a hub for law enforcement from across the region.
Bunchy Carter, minister of defense for the Washington chapter of the Black Panther Party, said a lack of transparency has fueled public distrust.
“Being more transparent and forthcoming with information is a must, and they’ve done everything but that in this particular situation. I would hope that they understand that that’s part of the reason why people feel the way they feel,” he said.
The Black Panther Party of Washington is only “peripherally involved” with the issue at this time as they await the full details about the training facility’s features, which continue to be sparsely communicated to the public.
“We already have a troubling trend of people who are having mental health crises, who are being killed by the police because the police aren’t trained to deal with that,” he said. “Now they will have this facility to increase the degree of training that is being given, and I don’t know that that’s going to be training in de-escalation. I don’t know if that’s going to be training for dealing with mental health crises.”
When The Stranger spoke to Carter, the Lacey website had yet to add that the facility will also provide “spaces for mental health and homeless outreach professionals” and “training areas for continuing to enhance de-escalation techniques,” which it lists today.
Urquhart also brought into question the City’s use of $6.8 million in COVID relief funds that were previously set aside for permanent supportive housing. As an Indigenous activist and founder of two grassroots organizations, Red Road Rising and South Sound Street Medics, Urquhart has connections to Lacey’s most vulnerable populations, including unhoused people.
Somewhat ironically, in using those federal housing dollars to help fund the training facility, they contributed to displacement, Urquhart said. Carter affirmed this comment, saying that about 20 people living in the construction area, which is just off of I-5, to whom the Party was providing mutual aid can no longer be found.
Another large chunk of funding for the project comes from the City’s general fund reserves, specifically its arterial street fund reserves. Sounds like investments in roads and permanent supportive housing will have to take a backseat for now.
When asked for comment, the City of Lacey and the Lacey Police Department declined to speak about the training center at this time.
As for the claims that the facility is basically a “Cop City” for western WA, Urquhart and Carter see both similarities and differences when compared to the life-threatening situation in Atlanta.
For Carter, a second-generation Panther, the greatest concern is that the Lacey facility will give police a place to centralize scores of heavily armed officers to deploy in times of civil unrest, an evermore frequent sight in this present moment in history. “This is absolutely an opportunity to further militarize the police,” he said.
Urquhart, who is a military veteran, cautions that “a Cop City is not going to help us out in any way, shape or form. Increasing law enforcement just doesn’t work like that.”
On the one hand, it would be fun if it was a cop city because there are few things as entertaining as progressives with their knickers in a twist. (They’re every bit as funny as the MAGAs)
On the other, I don’t see the point of one since so many criminals are let off with little to no consequences.
To the degree that police violence is unfortunately necessary, most would probably prefer it being controlled and professional, so it’s easy to see that the constant opposition to training is just based off personal animosity.
“Militarization” is also a nearly meaningless term that seems to mean “I don’t like how they look using tactical gear that makes it less likely they will die”, rather than police doing anything remotely similar to the military’s job.
When you read stuff like this you realize NW progressives don’t give one hoot about public safety or improving how the police respond to situations. Their policy is abolition so they will oppose any measure of incremental improvement lest it works against that goal. I’m glad WA voters are realizing this and moving away from candidates that align with the progressives in our area.
Cracking down on “protestors?” Or cracking down on trespassers, vandals and shitty anti-semites?
“…indicating dissonance between the City’s priorities and the public’s.”
Which “public”? Residents of Lacey? Evergreen students?
Also, opening more police training centers has been a priority of… the Legislature and the Governor, if you bother to pay attention: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/was-first-of-its-kind-police-training-center-opens-in-pasco/
“ The training center is one of four that are expected to open across the state, and the only one in Eastern Washington. Others are planned for Vancouver, Everett and Bellingham… And he [Inslee] was excited to see that Washington is able to expand its training program across the state.”
Those opposed to the lack of transparency involved here have valid concerns. Too bad they’re going to be ignored by the general public because of the childish, absolutist “No cops; no prisons! Total abolition” rhetoric.
@5 Beat me to it. But I can correct.
” indicating dissonance between the City’s priorities and The Strangers, along with a small but vocal abolitionist minority”..
Every state is going to have its own cop city. TRILLIONS of dollars are already spent on cops. Cops don’t prevent or solve crime. They commit crime, they cover up crime, they ignore crime (of their choosing) and they jam people up pretending they are criminals when they are not.
This violence obsessed country is going to be ruled by cops, the military, and religious zealots – all in the name of making sure the obscenely wealthy stay wealthy and protected from everyone else at all costs.
People have been screaming about the state of this country for over a century (extremely conservative estimate, more like centuries). No one has listened. No one is listening. No one cares. The only thing that matters in this country is money and protecting that money/property at all costs. Human life means nothing.
Americans want to be ruled by fascists. They keep voting for those most eager to implement fascism – over and over and over – and have for nearly 100 years now (with the occasional, possible anomaly). And even the so-called democrats, liberals, and progressives in our government (at every level) do nothing to stop it, because they really don’t give a fuck either.
Why are people always surprised when they get exactly what they’ve been asking for? Cops cops cops and more cops. By the time cops are gunning down white people the way they gun down Black people, it will be too late. 2020 was ignored. 1968 was ignored. Etc.
The Zionists (including the 10 million Christian Zionists in the U.S.) want The United States run like Israel and they’re gonna get exactly what they want, eventually (and sooner rather than later). They’ve got a start – the corrupt, criminal, and illegitimate SCOTUS is burning the Constitution as fast as they possibly can. Women exist solely to breed. All non-white people exist solely to serve the white people* (the WEALTHY white people). All poor people (even the white ones!) exist solely to serve the WEALTHY white people.
If they don’t already, Americans will at some point see they are living in a violent, occupied, apartheid state (just like they always have been). The illusion has been destroyed, but as they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.
The far left and the far right are identical, Part 1,000,000…
Left wingers: “police need more training! We need them to have a better understanding on a variety of different issues.”
Local government: “ok great. We’re going to build a training center to do that. Do you support funding it?”
Left wingers: “absolutely not! No more funding!”
Right wingers: “we need more cops! Crime is out of control.”
Local government: “ok great. We’re going to propose a tax measure to pay for it. Do you support funding it?”
Right wingers: “absolutely not! No more funding!”
Right wingers and left wingers: “let’s do everything in our power to make sure Donald Trump gets elected President again!”
Every one of you who comes in here to hate-read The Stranger and leave what I assume you think to be witty comments are the absolute most pathetic form of life on the Internet. Go back to guzzling Fox News like the addicts and blowing Bruce Harrell under his desk. Losers, one and all (except xina), and stupid ones at that. Not a funny one in the bunch.
And before you say anything, no, me coming in here to admonish you will never make me as pathetic as any of you. I will never even contain even a fraction of the pathetic lickspittle energy that the commentariat here exudes with every sentence they (poorly) compose. I’d tell you all to grow up, but you’re probably all older than me and thus FAR more pathetic as a result.
@11 “People who have different opinions than me are actually mad and stupid and I’m younger than them probably and I’M NOT MAD!!”
@11: “Every one of you who comes in here to hate-read The Stranger and leave what I assume you think to be witty comments are the absolute most pathetic form of life on the Internet.”
Sorry. We aren’t going to allow poorly concieved oinions stand uncontested to become the basis of astro-turfing campaigns. You and Kylin can speak your mind. That’s your right. But others have an equal right (some would say duty) to voice their disagreements. Just to provide a counterweight to a dangerous form of faux populism.
@12
You are a deeply tedious person with no original thoughts or insights. For the sake of the rest of the world, please throw your phone (and computer) into the ocean. No one thinks you’re clever or smart, and this comment is a perfect indication of the intellectually-hollow cavern between your ears. You couldn’t have illustrated it better for everyone.
@13
No one here who reads your opinions is going to have their mind changed, you’re just doing this so you can feel smug and smarter about yourself. Oh boy, you sure showed those folks who pushed back against the conservative commentariart! That’ll send that brat scrambling back to his internet hole with his tail between his legs! By jove you’ve done it again!
That was sarcasm (shocking!). You haven’t accomplished anything other than showing what a simp you are for the boot on your neck. Enjoy the taste of polished leather as it crushes your skull, chump. You and your ilk richly deserve all the misery you get from it.
@14 Yes, yes, I’m so stupid and you’re the really smart one who isn’t mad at all. Sort of a rephrasing of your last one. Talk about persuading people with commentry!
@14: So, nothing to add to the discussion about Cop City then? Much like @11.
@15 Fuck cop city and the police in general. Lacey shouldn’t be using public resources for this shit without proper public input, which they haven’t. Shame on every elected official for skirting the public interest in favor of further equipping our resident fascist militias with better tools for suppressing civil rights. Good enough for you? If not, too fucking bad.
@17 — thank you for your comment (which was bad) explaining your opinion (which was also bad) regarding the substantive issues outlined in this article rather than your original meta commentary poking fun at other commenters. I certainly can understand why you’d lead with mockery rather than substance when your substance is objectively incorrect and subjectively terrible.
The city properly solicited public input (you’re just mad the vast majority of people didn’t have the same opinion as you), the training center is in the public’s interest (training cops is good), police departments aren’t fascist militias (that’s Donald Trump supporters that people like you are trying to empower by doing everything you can to get Trump elected), and the training center won’t be used to provide better tools to suppress civil rights (that’s illegal which means your claim is just a complete crock of shit).
Better luck next time. Enjoy your weekend.