MedX Brings Life-Saving Skills to the Front Lines of Cop City Protests

Rabbithole Studios exist on the periphery of Athens, Georgia. Made up of warehouses, tiny homes, and recreational vehicles. It stands out as a space that supports local art and artists by giving them a place to gather and work on their craft. The venue often hosts events open to everyone, where attendees can enjoy music and art as part of a nonjudgemental and free-spirited community. At one of these events, I met MedX, a DJ, phlebotomist, designer, and veteran. Recently, he posted about sleeping under protective pentagrams and living nomadically, so I asked him about it.

MedX had been a medic in the army. As a medic in the army, he learned how to triage people, evaluating and prioritizing care based on who needed it most. He’s now an activist using his medical skills to assist where he can like during the Black Lives Matter protests in Athens and Atlanta a couple of years ago. His time spent in the military and at protests made him acutely aware of the increasing militarization of the police.

In January, Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, a 26-year-old protester, was killed in a forest near Atlanta while police cleared activists who opposed the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Campus or Cop City. He was shot and killed while his hands were raised sparking a mass mobilization against Cop City, leading to more protests and arrests.

Cop City will occupy over 350 acres of forested land, with 85 acres dedicated to facilities and 265 acres of surrounding green space. The Atlanta Police Foundation says the center is needed to help boost morale and recruitment efforts, and that previous facilities used by law enforcement were substandard.

The project is largely funded by the Atlanta Police Foundation, a multimillion-dollar nonprofit that supports the Atlanta Police Department. Critics argue that these nonprofits like the APF, many of which were launched after the wave of protests when a Black 18-year-old was killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, are unaccountable to the public and create channels for corporate influence on law enforcement. Opponents of the training site fear that police will be taught how to squash social justice movements.

The project is being funded by over 60 million dollars of corporate funding and more than 30 million taxpayer dollars. Once complete, the center will be used as a training center for police and fire services expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2023.

According to a report by Color of Change, a nonprofit civil rights advocacy organization, the Atlanta Police Foundation's funding is predominantly sourced from wealthy individuals and corporations. This has led to concerns that the foundation is more accountable to Atlanta's wealthiest citizens.

The report states that police foundations across the country, including the APF, have been privately funding the expansion of policing often to the detriment of marginalized communities. The use of funds for military-grade equipment, training, and technology has raised concerns about the excessive use of force and the disproportionate targeting of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people.

By March 5th, 23 people had been arrested and charged with domestic terrorism amid violent protests at the site where Cop City would be built. On March 4th, MedX got together with a few friends to attend a music festival at the site where the theme was "Stop Cop City." He had a great time enjoying the music and the community. However, after a couple of “wild cards” got out, SWAT came and arrested protesters and attendees indiscriminately. Anyone with mud on their shoes was a potential suspect and labeled a terrorist, even though many were there to peacefully gather and listen to music.

This is the flyer for the festival provided by MedX.

“We should be able to speak our voices without staring down rifles,” MedX said.

Many of those who were arrested do not have the funds to cover legal fees, and these arrests are meant to deter activists who cannot afford to fight for their cause in court. The situation speaks to the increasing tension between law enforcement and citizens who oppose the militarization of police.

A growing number of southeast Atlanta neighborhoods are also speaking out against the proposal to build a massive training center on forested land in DeKalb County. The training center would carve out land Atlanta leaders previously agreed to preserve. Though the city says officials are committed to replacing trees destroyed in construction, residents are concerned about destroying trees and wildlife habitats. The construction and operation of the facility would also likely lead to increased pollution and harm to the environment.

The East Atlanta Community Association, Grant Park Neighborhood Association, and South Atlantans for Neighborhood Development are just a few of the groups that have passed resolutions against the proposal.

Ormewood Park, Benteen Park, Boulevard Heights, Woodland Hills, Glenwood Park, North Ormewood Park, and Custer-McDonough-Guice, are some of the closest to the proposed site and home to over 20,000 city residents. Despite many of their concerns, the Atlanta Police Foundation continues to push forward with its plans for the controversial training center.

As the Stop Cop City protests continue to rage on, the people of Atlanta are left to grapple with the difficult questions surrounding police militarization and accountability. Many feel that the construction of Cop City is just another step towards the further oppression of marginalized communities, and are using their voices and their bodies to fight against it.

For MedX, what started as a weekend of doing yoga in the park and listening to live music with friends, ended with unjust violence and police arrests.

The decision to join the protests was an easy one for him. As a veteran and a former medic, he has seen firsthand how violence can tear communities apart. And while the risks are high, he is determined to use his skills to help those who are putting their bodies on the line for justice.

The future of Cop City remains uncertain, and the fate of those who have been arrested and charged with domestic terrorism hangs in the balance. As the debate over police funding and accountability continues, the role of private foundations like the APF in shaping law enforcement policies and practices will undoubtedly come under greater scrutiny. The question remains whether these foundations will be held accountable to the communities they serve or to their wealthy donors.