A wave of public outrage in Atlanta over the police killing of black man, Rayshard Brooks, has escalated into riots, with protesters blocking streets and setting fire to a Wendy’s restaurant where the fatal shooting took place.
An Atlanta police officer has been fired and another officer placed on administrative duty following the fatal shooting of the black man, officials said early Sunday.
The moves follow the resignation of Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields, who stepped down on Saturday.
The killing of Rayshard Brooks sparked a new wave of protests in Atlanta after the turbulent demonstrations that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis had simmered down.
Dozens of demonstrators took to the streets outside the restaurant on Saturday afternoon local time in a fresh wave of Black Lives Matters protests after video of the incident was shared on social media.
Protesters on Saturday night shut down an interstate highway in both directions and set fire to the Wendy’s fast-food restaurant where Brooks was fatally shot the night before.
Images on local television showed the restaurant in flames for more than 45 minutes before fire crews arrived to extinguish the blaze, protected by a line of police officers.
On Friday, officers responded to a complaint from a Wendy’s restaurant that a man had fallen asleep in his car and was blocking the drive-thru lane. According to police, 27-year-old Brooks had failed a field sobriety test and, as a result, they attempted to arrest him.
Eyewitness footage reportedly shows the officers wrestling with Brooks before using a taser gun on him. At one point, Brooks managed to break free and run, with accounts differing on whether he had managed to take possession of one of the officers’ taser gun.
“At that point, the Atlanta officer reaches down and retrieves his weapon from his holster, discharges it, strikes Mr. Brooks there on the parking lot and he goes down,” said Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Director Vic Reynolds.
At least three shots were fired as Brooks attempted to flee, according to Reynolds. Footage of the killing appears to show a person shouting “I got him” shortly after shots were fired, the GBI director said.
Source: Agencies
