Editor’s Note: El Paso Matters is partnering with Gigafact to produce “fact briefs” that examine claims about issues shaping our community.
NO
El Paso’s Eastside Regional Command Center, the police department’s new substation, occupies 10 acres and has a fitness center, car maintenance bays, and administrative and detention facilities. It’s not a training facility.
The $38.6 million project is funded by a 2019 bond approved by voters and is similar in size to the Mission Valley Regional Command Center. It is set to open in June.
Activist and researcher Renee Johnston included the El Paso facility in a list of 70 “cop cities.”
The term “cop city” arose as a nickname given by protesters to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, a proposed law enforcement training facility under construction.
Atlanta’s facility cost $90 million, sits on 85 acres and includes multiple training facilities such as a mock city for burn building training, a vehicle training course and urban police training facilities, according to the center’s website.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources:
City of El Paso Capital Project Report (2023) (page 15-16): https://www.elpasotexas.gov/assets/Documents/CoEP/Capital-Improvement/Quarterly-Report.pdf
El Paso Police Department Email Response: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24483309-eppd-eastside-regional-command-center-date-email?responsive=1&title=1
Map of “Cop Cities”: https://isyourlifebetter.net/cop-cities-usa/
Renee Johnston Quote (Timestamp: 27:27): https://vimeo.com/914852334
Atlanta Police Public Training Center Page: https://www.atltrainingcenter.com/about
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