Kamau Franklin, Shar Bates, Mary Hooks, Marlon Kautz, Keyanna Jones - Stop Cop City Press Conference (2024)

Speaker 1: I will turn it over to Kamau Franklin from Community Movement Builders, who can give us some context on today, what's gone down and why we're here.

Kamau Franklin: Hi, my name is Kamau Franklin, K-A-M-A-U Franklin, F-R-A-N-K-L-I-N. I am the director of Community Movement Builders. We're here once again today because the city of Atlanta With the state police and the federal government continue to criminalize organizers and activists. They continue to distract, distract, distract through the media the real issue at hand, which is that the people want a vote, and they want to say on whether or not Cop City gets built. But as opposed to putting forth this idea on a public referendum, Instead, they stage fake criminal charges and arrests against people, bring out the media, have the mayor speak, try to make it a big deal, as they continue to criminalize this movement. Remember, we still have 61 people who are being charged with domestic terrorism, who are being charged with RICO charges, for doing little more than sitting in a forest doing little more than sitting in tents, people who went to music concerts. This is the narrative that the city and the state is putting forth to distract the public against the fact that they're passing legislation after legislation to criminalize movement. We just had the state put forth legislation basically to ban bail bonds or bail funds. We just had the city invert legislation to do signature matching, basically voter suppression, to stop the verification of signatures from happening. This is a tired tactic by the city. It is a tired tactic by the state. It is a tired tactic that is being engaged in with the federal government. So we continue to call for Cop City to not be built. We continue to call for the people to have the ultimate decision on what should happen with that land, because we know organizers and activists and everyday people have continually signaled and said that Cop City is not something they wanted on their agenda, that there are many ways to spend resources in the city of Atlanta. No one said Yeah. They wanted a play city for cops. No one said, at the dawn of the movement, or the rebirth of the movement, to stop police violence against our communities, when George Floyd was killed, that the answer to that was to militarize the police even further in this city. No one said they wanted that. But the city, instead, with the help of the state, decided to continue to criminalize movement activities. In their own indictment against movement activists, they decided to say that the criminalization of this movement, that the indictment of RICO charges of this movement, started not when we were organizing against Cop City, but it started when George Floyd was killed, murdered by the police.

Speaker 3: Shame.

Kamau Franklin: That is what they said. That is what they continue to do. We just had the anniversary of the murder of Tortuguita. No justice was done then. No justice is happening now with the continued arrests and trumped-up charges against organizers and activists and people who are against Cop City. This is nothing but trumped-up charges against organizers and activists. This is a way to deflate our movement. But this movement will keep on marching, demonstrating, organizing, doing direct action, We're doing civil disobedience because we know the people are behind us to stop Cop City.

Mary Hooks: Thank you.

Speaker 1: Thank you. Next, I'm going to bring up Char Bates from Justice for Johnny Hallman.

Shar Bates: Hi, my name is Char Bates. Spelled S-H-A-R. My name is Shar Bates, spelled S-H-A-R. Last name is spelled B-A-T-E-S. And I'm the CEO of My Vote Is Hip-Hop. I come before y'all today to remind you that not only are we just simply fighting We're fighting for our First Amendment. We're fighting for the people that can no longer speak, like Johnny Holloman, who was killed on August 10th over a simple traffic violation. For people like Tortuguita, who was killed with his hands up, sitting Indian style, and Who had bullet wounds in his hands. Yet even with APD, who is required to wear body cams, even with the cab police, even with the Georgia State Patrol, we still have no evidence. We have no video that they have produced. But yet we got RICOs over glue sticks.

Speaker 6: Yet you guys are running up in people's houses, which is the same thing that you plan to practice with this Cop law. This is the same things that you plan on practicing with Cop City—

Shar Bates: illegal raids for simple things that lead to the loss of lives of the citizens of Atlanta and people that are here to visit. We still have no answers.

Speaker 6: Why would we give them more money to do more militarization when we already don't have any accountability?

Speaker 3: Right.

Speaker 6: We don't have any accountability. Our D.A., Fani Willis, said, oh, let's just wait till the GBI investigation is over for any arrests or any movement in the Johnny Holloman case. It's been over 5 months. Not only has the officer not been arrested, the tow driver has not been arrested. While he put his knee on Mr. Holloman's neck and crushed his neck. Now, we keep hearing these things, oh, we need more training, more training, more training. Nobody has had more training than the city of Atlanta. As a matter of fact, when the situation happened in Tennessee, what's his name that was killed by the officers?

Speaker 1: Tyre Nichols.

Speaker 6: When Tyre Nichols was killed, Our mayor not only bragged about how much better and about how much more training the city of Atlanta officers had, he basically told them, y'all need to come and learn from us. But then, when we had our own Black Derek Chauvin happen right here in the city of Atlanta, he said, wait, wait for more evidence, on the day the video was coming out of a video that he's seen months ago.

Mary Hooks: Yeah.

Speaker 6: We just had someone win a Grammy from the city of Atlanta. Back in the day, they were talking about the Red Dogs, and they were talking about how foul the criminal justice system here in Atlanta was. But I haven't really heard too much from the hip-hop community. Where are y'all?

Mary Hooks: Where y'all at, y'all?

Speaker 6: In the words of the great Tiffany Roberts, does the South still have something to say? With a mayor named Dre. Because before you got into office— That's a good question. Before you got into office, you were going very hard. You were supposed to be this community mayor, but we're not receiving that. As a matter of fact, if I recall, we didn't even have no money for the Peach Drop because y'all spent so much of the taxpayers' money on a hip-hop concert. Yet you want to spend more of taxpayers' dollars, because make no mistake, we're not only wasting dollars talking about building Cop City, you're wasting taxpayers' dollars when you run up in people's houses to criminalize them for using their free speech.

Speaker 3: Yeah.

Speaker 6: But yet you want to quote Martin Luther King?

Speaker 9: Yeah.

Speaker 6: Yet you want to quote all these people? Peaceful people and all of these activists. But yet, right now, you're criminalizing us for doing the same thing. We're not going anywhere. This is not going to stop.

Mary Hooks: Even with—

Keyanna Jones: you can—

Speaker 6: they're not just silent. I need y'all to understand, they're not just silencing us. You're silencing city council members.

Marlon Kautz: Yep.

Speaker 6: Right now, here we are at a press conference. And we have officers wasting time and energy standing out here watching us, when it's other crimes that they could be going after. Listen, at the end of the day, all we're asking for is accountability. Fani, you told us before Christmas to wait 'til the GBI investigation is over. The GBI investigation is over. This family has not only had to spend Christmas Yeah. Without a father, a grandfather, an uncle and a husband and a community advocate. They just celebrated a birthday without him. Next Saturday, February 17th, from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. at Bonfire ATL, we are going to be having a concert and a benefit, but more solely a rally for the hip-hop community to join us—

Speaker 9: Yeah.

Speaker 6: Yeah. Too many times, everybody is up in arms and running to these other cities and making such a big deal when things happen in other places.

Mary Hooks: How was we out—

Speaker 6: the streets was flooded about George Floyd. The streets was active about Tyre Nichols. Why we can't get more than 100 people out here Yes. I don't, I don't, I don't get it. It doesn't translate to me. So, if this doesn't make sense to you, please join us next Saturday at Bonfire ATL from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. If it doesn't sit right with you for our own city council members to be silenced, please continue to stand with us. Stand with us. If it doesn't make sense to you that our attorney general ain't got nothing to say about nothing, but you got time to criminalize the activists that's just fighting for our rights to have due process, fighting for our rights to just have a say-so or transparency where our tax dollars are going, we need y'all to say something. It's an election year coming up.

Keyanna Jones: Vote they asses out!

Mary Hooks: Period.

Speaker 1: Next, I'm going to bring up Mary Hooks from the Referendum Coalition.

Speaker 3: Thank you.

Mary Hooks: Good evening. I'm Mary Hooks, and I'm with the referendum campaign. And I also serve as the national field secretary with the Movement for Black Lives. But more importantly, I'm a mother in this city. I raised my children in Southwest Atlanta and have called Atlanta home for 17 years. When I came to Atlanta, Atlanta introduced me to the legacy of the civil rights movement. And in Atlanta, I got politicized. And in Atlanta is where I really learned How power works in this city and how the Atlanta way works, not for everyday people like you and I, but for the politicians, the corporations and the Atlanta elite. And we are seeing them. We are seeing them with so much clarity, the ways in which they are undermining democracy in this city.

Speaker 3: Right.

Mary Hooks: Our city council, if you are not aware, just this past Monday, they codified a verification process. We've been wanting them to do that for six months, but they so politely slid in signature match, and I thought that was a move of the right-wing Republicans of this state. But oh no, in this bastion of democracy, our politicians. Have decided to use voter suppression as a way to undermine our efforts, undermine the voices of 116,000 people who signed a petition. The mayor this morning, in a little press conference, he said to us, he said to the people of Atlanta, the majority of the people in Atlanta want. And at that point, I said to myself, well, where is your data, Mayor? Back that up, Mayor. Where are your numbers, Mayor? Because he never asked me.

Speaker 3: Right.

Mary Hooks: But I know who did do some asking— all the volunteers, all the folks who toiled in the hot sun to ask people. What they wanted? And our people said, we wanted to vote.

Keyanna Jones: Mm-hmm.

Mary Hooks: And so, we, at the very least, know that 116,000 people want an opportunity to either prove you right or to prove you wrong.

Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

Mary Hooks: He also said that if we want our politicians to hear us, Then we should just write fancy written letters. Didn't he say something like that, y'all? That we should write letters?

Speaker 3: Yes.

Mary Hooks: Not only have we written letters, we have stood in city council for hours, hours. Those young people who were in the forest, a public forest, might I add, who was gunned down, Tortuguita. In a joint operation— that's the RICO, let's be real about it— but in a joint operation, he has shown no mercy toward them and those who were defending the forest to show our disdain about Cop City. Amen. But he's going to get on live television and have us be remorseful.

Speaker 3: Shame.

Mary Hooks: Shame. Some construction equipment, when our people are dying at alarming rates, when our people— I cannot make it 10 minutes in this city without giving away half my paycheck, because our people are hungry. Our people are homeless. Our people are looking for work.

Marlon Kautz: Yep.

Mary Hooks: Our people are hustling to pay rent.

Kamau Franklin: Yep.

Mary Hooks: Most of your officers, let's be real about it, probably struggling to pay theirs, too. Exactly. And so, you want to tell us that the people have already decided?

Keyanna Jones: No, sir.

Mary Hooks: No, sir. No, sir. You lying to our people. You a liar, and the truth ain't in you, because the only way we're going to know the truth Is if you drop the appeal—

Speaker 3: That's right.

Mary Hooks: —in the circuit court, y'all.

Keyanna Jones: Our mayor can do that.

Speaker 9: Mm-hmm.

Mary Hooks: They say— the police say, hey, we help support people's right to protest. We protect that. That's why we out here. Y'all can say stuff. We'll keep protecting you. It ain't just about protecting us and what comes out of my mouth. It— what happens when I go to the voting booth? Protect that. That is my freedom of speech. When I go knock doors, that is my freedom of speech. When I collect petitions, that is my freedom of speech.

Speaker 9: Yep. Right.

Mary Hooks: And that is what he is contesting.

Speaker 3: Yes.

Mary Hooks: Who can have freedom of speech? Yep. This is what this boils down to. And unfortunately, if you say things that the powers that be don't agree with, Right. Then they don't believe we should have a voice in what happens.

Speaker 3: Right.

Mary Hooks: Because every step of the way, we've been in this thing for years. I'm sure the police, they may not be, but we tired of looking at them. They tired of looking at us. Here we are, friends. Here we are. Y'all probably tired of doing this, too, huh? We all could be out to dinner. We've been doing this for years. And this city could have been made to call when everybody showed up the first time. In August of 2021, they could have made a call then, coming out of the most— the largest uprisings we've seen in this country. Yeah. And the conversation around policing had shifted. People got more clear about what time it is, what safety actually means for our people, and what's it going to take. We wasn't calling That's right. We call for you to take care of our people. Yep. That's right. Period. Because where there is crime, trust me, that's backed up by violent policy. That is what violent policy does. And so, when you tell us that we don't have a right to vote about a thing we care about, when you could have put this on the ballot, Yourselves. But no, we had to sweat for it. And that's all right, because that's what we came for. We came for the smoke. We came for the work. We came to make sure that the people of this city know that our power still belongs to us everyday people. Mm-hmm. It don't belong to Delta.

Keyanna Jones: That's right.

Mary Hooks: It don't belong to the Atlanta Police Foundation. It don't belong to Buckhead. No way. It don't belong to the 15 to 16 folks who are elected officials, our city council and mayor. It don't belong to y'all.

Speaker 9: Nope.

Mary Hooks: Baby, don't belong to you. And the last thing I'll say, and this is directly to the people that live in this city, and I'm going to tell y'all the way it is, because these folks keep getting on this mic. And doing these press conferences. And they're pretending the more police we get, the more safety we're going to have.

Speaker 6: It's not the answer.

Mary Hooks: And if you are anybody '80s and up, born from the '80s and up, raise your hand. We've seen the war on drugs. We saw what your 1994 crime bill did. We saw what it meant when you all said We're going to give you safety, and you kicked in— and you killed Black leaders, and you murdered our movements, and you put drugs in our community. And we're decades into this fight. And you think building $1 billion jails, where people are rotting and dying in, you think arresting people and putting them now in jail, that our governor so graciously signed SB— what is it?

Keyanna Jones: 30?

Shar Bates: Yes.

Mary Hooks: SB 30, to limit bail and who can bail folk out? I get calls every day from mothers in this city trying to get their children out, trying to get their husbands out, trying to get their sons out of jail. And y'all say— pretend that they want to do something with the jail problem. And so, to the people who live in this city, we cannot pretend as if we have not seen what the last few decades have done to And if we really about that life, if we're going to stand on the business of actually having safety, actually having real community dignity, real community safety, it ain't about them, y'all.

Speaker 9: Nope.

Mary Hooks: It ain't never been about them. It's always been about us. And the question is, what are we willing to do to fight for it? What are we willing to do to shake these cats out the bag so they can invest that in our communities like they should have been did for over the last 400 years?

Kamau Franklin: Mm-hmm.

Mary Hooks: So let's not look for safety when it come to these cats. That's a lie. And don't play— and don't buy into the hype, y'all. You need— if you hear my voice, call your mayor, y'all. If you love him the way we say— I say y'all. If you love him the way you say you do, he is not above critique. Call him. Tell him he is wrong on this issue.

Speaker 12: Yup.

Mary Hooks: Tell him that he needs to drop the appeal and we need to move the verification process so we can get this thing voted on in May. Yup. And you tell him, if he has any, any political integrity, Then he should call up Bradford Gorey, all of those contractors, tell them to put their tools down. This ain't a fair fight. You can't keep building when the people ain't decided yet. So we asking him to step into the integrity and be the mayor that this city allegedly loves. Let's see it.

Marlon Kautz: Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 1: Next, I'm going to bring up Marlon, who's a representative from the Atlanta Solidarity Fund.

Marlon Kautz: My name is Marlon Kautz. I'm here to make a statement on behalf of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund. The raids and arrests we've seen today is sadly nothing new. Over the past 2 years, police have deployed This very same strategy against activists again and again. They arrest protesters, they raid homes, they even kill people, and then justify it by making vague and shocking claims about violence and terrorism. But whenever anybody looks closely at these claims, they come apart. In every arrest of a Cop City protester thus far, Police and prosecutors have lied and abused the court process to target people, not because of guilt, but because of their political activity, because they oppose Cop City. After literally years of these lies, attacks, and abuse, it's gotten to the point that when APD issues a statement to the press, nobody can take it at face value. The authorities have shown time and time again that there is no line they won't cross to shut down a movement which threatens their political interests. In their desperation to suppress political protest, the police are eroding their own credibility as an institution that can be trusted to protect anyone other than powerful political interests. So we urge everyone here today To question the official narrative, ask questions, demand evidence and transparency. For our part, the Atlanta Solidarity Fund is committed to protecting the rights of those who are targeted and mistreated for protesting. We will not allow political prosecutions or legislative attacks to deny people access to legal support. And we will work to pursue accountability For those responsible for violating the rights of the public. However long it takes, there will be justice. Thank you.

Mary Hooks: Woo!

Speaker 1: And then, to close us out, I want to bring up Reverend Keyanna Jones from Community Movement Builders.

Speaker 12: Woo!

Keyanna Jones: My name is Reverend Keyanna Jones, K-E-Y-A-N-N-A J-O-N-E-S. I serve as the Stop Cop City organizer for Community Movement Builders, and I serve as an activist pastor in residence at Park Avenue Baptist Church here in the city of Atlanta. And we are a part of the Faith Coalition to Stop Cop City. I stand here as an ordained reverend to ask, where are the rest of my clergy members?

Mary Hooks: Right!

Keyanna Jones: Where are you when your people, who come into your churches and pay tithes to you, are being assaulted and harassed by police? In the words of the Apostle Paul in the Book of Romans, what shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Yes! We serve a God of justice, and that's all we are asking for here today, is justice. We're asking for accountability, and we are asking for the truth. We are asking for Mayor Andre Dickens, Chief Scherbaum and the fire chief to stop telling blatant lies to the city of Atlanta. What we want is for activists, organizers, protesters and movement comrades to stop being harassed for no apparent reason other than saying, stop Cop City, other than the fact that they're not afraid to stare down a person that's armed with 15 pieces of artillery as we stand unarmed, other than the fact that we are not afraid to still get in these streets, despite the fact that you murdered one of us in cold blood— Stop! —despite the fact that the mayor continues to talk about Oh, my God. Are we serious? How do you commit violence against a business? What am I going to do, take Delta and write on a piece of paper and step on it? Is that the violence? Because I thought that the murder of Deacon Holloman was violence. I thought the murder of George Chigita was violence. I bear this sweatshirt with the face of Jamarion Robinson, who was shot with 6 bullets. 76 bullet holes through his body by the same type of task force that raided people's homes this morning. It was that very same type of task force that murdered Jimmy Atchison with his hands up.

Mary Hooks: Say his name.

Keyanna Jones: Where is the training in that? These yahoos have had every type of training known to man, and they are still —senselessly killing people, harassing unarmed protesters and activists, and doing the most of nothing in the city of Atlanta. The Democratic Party of Georgia is having their biggest banquet of the year only a block away from here, where the mayor is standing up telling some more lies and asking for money and asking for votes and asking for support. But shame on the Democratic Party of Georgia. Not one Democratic legislator, other than Raul Roman, has stood against Cop City. Not one of them has had the courage to stand up and say that the police murder of Torcheguita was wrong. There is something wrong with this picture. But what we are here to say today is that if the people are for us, it's more than the cops against us.

Mary Hooks: Yes!

Keyanna Jones: It's more than the APF against us. It's more than the mayor's punk ass against us.

Speaker 3: Yes.

Keyanna Jones: Because we will not be deterred.

Mary Hooks: Not at all.

Keyanna Jones: You just saw Marlon Couch stand at this podium. His home was raided over meal reimbursements. His home was raided for buying supplies and for helping to bail people out. This state legislature just passed a bill. That would criminalize bail funds and charities if they bail out more than 3 people in a year. We know that this is targeted. We know that this is all because Andre and Brian Kemp will do whatever it takes to get Cop City built, because now they got the FBI. Now they got federal backup in this type of suppression.

Mary Hooks: Yeah.

Keyanna Jones: But the more they press, the more we gon' push. So I want you to get ready.

Mary Hooks: Because it's a real tug-of-war right now.

Keyanna Jones: You're going to pull to the left, and we are going to keep pushing to the right, because we know that we are standing for what is right. Stop Cop City! Stop Cop City! Stop Cop City! Stop Cop City! Stop Cop City! Stop Cop City!

Speaker 1: Thanks, folks. We'll be happy to take questions from folks either individually or as a group.

Keyanna Jones: Does anybody have questions?

Speaker 1: We're good to go.

Marlon Kautz: I got a question.

Shar Bates: Oh, Joseph.

Speaker 9: What's your reaction to today's events with the raids and the press conference and them saying that the person arrested was responsible for that fire of the motorcycles and all that? The police chief basically saying there's going to be more arrests in the coming weeks.

Keyanna Jones: I would say that we will have to check all of those statements. I would say that we have to see all of the evidence that was provided, because we know that the Atlanta Police Department, the GBI, have been known to lie. We know that there have been documents that have been falsified in the past when they have made arrests and had so-called warrants. So we are going to make sure that we check every piece of information that comes from that way.

Speaker 3: Any comment on the February 17th rally? Anything going on in the meantime? Any more events?

Keyanna Jones: We are still here on the ground. And we, as Mary mentioned, since the Atlanta City Council passed a piece of legislation that ensures a petition verification process, However, they have not moved on it. We are still going to be pressing the Atlanta City Council to move on their own legislation that they just passed, because they passed this verification process even though it contains signature matching, but they have to now start to verify these signatures. And if they don't, then they are now violating their own ordinance.

Speaker 12: Question for everyone who spoke is like, you know, most people's answers Do you condone the arson that happened, though, against the motorcycles and the other stuff?

Mary Hooks: Hell no. No, not at all. And to be— if I'm being honest with you, Atlanta deserves more than that. Real talk. They lucky. This city is lucky. This country is lucky. Atlanta has its hands in literally murdering Palestinians right now. You think we give a damn about some equipment? Not at all. Not at all. But some of us, we cannot take that risk. And those who can, bless them. Bless them. That's right. I cannot take that risk. But Lord knows I'll sit with my lighter and be like, damn! So the best thing that I can do is use my voice, use my feet, Use my heart and talk to my people and to organize.

Speaker 9: That's right.

Mary Hooks: And I put my body on the line and show up as much as we can, because we need every, every means necessary to deal in the police state in which we are dealing with. That's right. So I don't care if— no. And I would imagine my comrades would say the same. That's right. No. I'm not going to condemn nobody. For burning up— no, sorry, brother. I ain't going to condemn nobody for doing righteously what they need to do, when our city has silenced every, quote-unquote, democratic, proper democratic process.

Keyanna Jones: That's right. That's right.

Mary Hooks: As one of the students say, if we don't get this in the courts, if we can't get this at council, then we're going to take it in the streets.

Speaker 3: That's right.

Mary Hooks: Because our people, our children, my babies, I watched the rest. That's right.

Keyanna Jones: That's right.

Kamau Franklin: The fuck?

Shar Bates: I would like to know, are y'all asking if—

Keyanna Jones: Yeah, asking if anybody condemned the murder today.

Speaker 6: Well, we're at— you already know what I'm about to say. If the motorcycles or equipment is not condoned to be vandalized, since we have not received any justice, I can only imagine that they are condoning the murder. The next time you're in front of them, please ask them, are they condoning the murders? Because if they're not condoning them, why have we not seen any justice?

Speaker 3: Right.

Speaker 6: Why has the needle not been moved? Why has— why— since when is a regular citizen able to put their knee on someone's neck and literally crush it? And walk away from the scene? Since when is it okay for us to allow a 23-year-old to leg sweep an elder and walk away, and his only concern is washing the goddamn blood off his hands? Ask them if they condone that.

Keyanna Jones: That's right.

Speaker 3: Come on now. Any other questions?

Speaker 9: Is there any update on the appeal?

Mary Hooks: Tell, tell, tell, tell—

Keyanna Jones: As of right now, we do not have an update on the appeal. But what I will say is that Mayor Dickens continues to railroad the people, as he says, when we are supposed to take democratic means to oppose this project. We are still in the appeals process in the 11th Circuit Court. Mayor Dickens will not drop the appeal, because Mayor Dickens The mayor knows certainly that if the people have the chance to vote, and when they have the chance to vote, it will be against Cop City. So we are still waiting on a decision, a final decision from the 11th Circuit in that appeal, unless the mayor wants to drop it.

Speaker 12: We know that the— obviously we're out here in front of the Atlanta Police Foundation headquarters. What I have heard is that Mark Giuliano, who is part of the Atlanta Police Foundation executive board, used to run the Federal Bureau of Investigation office here in Atlanta. How much do you all believe that the Atlanta Police Foundation is directing— this private foundation may be directing the federal government and police forces here in Atlanta?

Keyanna Jones: Man, it's all cultural. I believe, and I know that it is commonly shared within this movement, That the Atlanta Police Foundation is not only ordering the steps of the Atlanta Police Department and Mayor Dickens, but they are also in collusion with the federal government. Because as it has been shown time and time again, capitalism wins out over all. Major corporations are the ones who run and fund these police departments. This Atlanta Police Foundation is a nonprofit corporation. However, they do not support police Police foundations do not support police officers in any way. I'll say that again. They do not support police officers in any way. They are simply made up of major corporations who are able to now have police as their private security. And now it also gives them leverage with the government. That's what police foundations do. They are not here for the benefit of officers. They are solely here to protect capitalism and to ensure that local governments, in conjunction with them, can have whatever control they want to have over local communities.