Violent protestors at the site of Atlanta's proposed 85-acre public safety training center in DeKalb County are "terrorists," DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond said Monday.
Thurmond, who receives 24/7 police protection, contends the $90 million center in southeast Atlanta will provide "recreation" and should create jobs for "young men, particularly young black men in that community so that they can pursue honest labor."
DeKalb County's government is "pro training center," Thurmond said on the GPB Radio program "Political Rewind." "If we get a safer Atlanta, we get a safer DeKalb County."
"It's about better-trained policemen, but also about providing recreation for kids so they don't have to live in the streets," he said. "It's about preserving the natural resources so that that creates an environment where people can have a more positive life."
"It's about making sure that you got an internship program so when we build the training center, that there will be job opportunities offered to young men, particularly young black men in that community so that they can pursue honest labor," Thurmond said.
"We can reduce crime before the first class ever graduates from that academy if we will broaden our perspective." said Thurmond.
He told program host Bill Nigut he has never met with anyone from the Atlanta Police Foundation, the non-profit backing the facility.
