July 23, 2025
Two plaintiffs filed a lawsuit, claiming that the police foundation was violating Georgia’s open records law.
The controversial public safety training center proposed in Atlanta, known as “Cop City,” is at the heart of why a Fulton County judge ordered the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF) to release nearly 300 documents to the public. Judge Jane Barwick ruled for APF to turn over records related to the Atlanta Public Safety Training City, often referred to as “Cop City.”
The lawsuit all started with the two plaintiffs, the Atlanta Community Press Collective (ACPC) and Lucy Parsons Labs, a Chicago-based research group, requesting emails, APF board meeting minutes, and other documents. When APF failed to do so, the plaintiffs filed a lawsuit, claiming that the police foundation was violating Georgia’s open records law.
“This court concludes that APF was under a duty to provide records to ACPC and Lucy Parsons Labs pursuant to the Open Records Act,” Barwick wrote in her 12-page order months after a two-day bench trial. “Under the authority explained in this order, no exemptions applied.”
Why The Case on Atlanta Cop City Matters
According to the Guardian, the lawsuit was the first of its kind nationwide. While the case centered on the Atlanta Police Foundation, some say the judge’s ruling could have implications for whether police foundations are subject to open records laws.
Every major city has a private foundation that supports the police. A report from Police Foundations shows there are an estimated 250 nationwide. Because these foundations are not public agencies, there have been questions around whether the nonprofits that exclusively support a government agency are subject to public record laws.
The judge’s ruling “opens the door to what we want. It’s a guide stone for getting records from police foundations, so they can’t be a black box,” Matt Scott, executive director of Atlanta Community Press Collective (ACPC), told the Guardian. “A city can’t use police foundations as a way of getting around providing public records.”
However, according to the Atlanta Civic Circle, Judge Barwick clarified that the order does not designate APF a public entity, which means that all its records are not declared public and accessible.
It’s unclear if the APF will appeal the judge’s ruling.
