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Atlanta police shoot dead black man after alleged struggle in restaurant drive-through

The Wendy’s restaurant where a police officer chased and shot dead black man Rayshard Brooks has been set on fire by protesters.

Natalie BrownNatalie Brown
@natalieisbrown
4 min read
June 30, 2020 - 10:18AM
Fires burn at Wendy's restaurant where police shot and killed Rayshard Brooks

The Atlanta restaurant where a police officer chased and shot dead black man Rayshard Brooks has been set on fire by protesters.

The 27-year-old was reported to police for sleeping in a car blocking the Wendy’s drive-through, and was shot after he failed a field sobriety test and resisted arrest, authorities said.

A crowd of more than 150 demonstrators gathered earlier in the day outside the restaurants, and it has since gone up in flames.

“The people are upset,” lawyer and vice president of Atlanta’s NAACP chapter Gerald Griggs said.

“They want to know why their dear brother Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed when he was merely asleep on the passenger side and not doing anything.”

Even though Brooks struggled with officers, Mr Griggs said, “They could have used nonlethal force to take him down.”

The shooting comes at a time of heightened tension over police brutality and calls for reforms across the US following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Atlanta was among US cities where large crowds of protesters took to the streets.

OFFICER WHO KILLED BROOKS TERMINATED

The Atlanta police officer who shot and killed Mr Brooks has been terminated, Atlanta Police spokesman Carlos Campos confirmed to CNN.

The second officer involved in the care has been placed on administrative duty.

VIDEO REVEALS VICTIM WAS RUNNING AWAY

Surveillance video footage of the moment Mr Brooks was chased and shot has been released.

The footage, released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, shows Mr Brooks firing a Taser toward the officer, who chased him through the car park before shooting and killing him.

A video posted to social media showed Mr Brooks grappling with two officers attempting to arrest him, with one appearing to try to stun him with the Taser after Mr Brooks threw a punch at him.

As Mr Brooks ran away, appearing to hold the Taser, one officer chased after him, holding another stun gun. Then, in one video, several gunshots were heard.

The GBI initially said in a statement that witnesses described Mr Brooks being shot “in the struggle over the Taser”.

But after obtaining Wendy’s surveillance video, the bureau revised its account, saying it “was based on the officer’s body cam which was knocked off during the physical struggle, preventing the capture of the entire shooting incident”.

“During the chase, Mr Brooks turned and pointed the Taser at the officer,” the bureau said, adding that “the officer fired his weapon, striking Brooks”.

A lawyer for Mr Brooks’ family, Chris Stewart, has disputed the official account of the shooting, saying officers put on plastic gloves and picked up their shell casings before rendering first aid to Mr Brooks.

Mr Stewart said officers waited more than two minutes before they checked Mr Brooks for a pulse.

POLICE CHIEF RESIGNS, DEADLY FORCE ‘NOT JUSTIFIED’

The release of the surveillance footage follows Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announcement earlier that Police Chief Erika Shields had resigned over Mr Brooks’ murder.

Amid mounting rage over the killing, Ms Bottoms announced Chief Shields’ decision and called for the immediate termination of the officer involved in the deadly shooting.

“While there may be debate as to whether this was an appropriate use of deadly force, I firmly believe that there is a clear distinction between what you can do and what you should do,” Ms Bottoms told reporters.

“I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force.

“What has become abundantly clear over the last couple of weeks in Atlanta is that while we have a police force full of men and women who work alongside our communities with honour, respect and dignity, there has been a disconnect with what our expectations are and should be as it relates to interactions with our officers and the communities in which they are entrusted to protect.”

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said it was asked by the Atlanta Police Department to investigate the incident, and anger has swept across the US over the deadly police shooting, which comes amid the Black Lives Matter movement and protests over George Floyd’s death.

“The killing of #RayshardBrooks in Atlanta last night demands we severely restrict the use of deadly force,” former Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams wrote in a tweet.

“Yes, investigations must be called for – but so too should accountability. Sleeping in a drive-thru must not end in death.”

“Why would you shoot a drunk man running away from you with deadly force? #RayshardBrooks should be alive today – he fell asleep at a drive-thru and is now dead as a result of police action. This has to end,” political commentator Andrew Yang tweeted.

BUREAU PLEADS WITNESSES TO COME FORWARD

The GBI said its agents were reviewing video taken by witnesses. The agency also posted to Twitter a plea for witnesses to come forward, saying some at the scene “chose not to be interviewed by GBI agents”.

Mr Brooks was transported to a local hospital where he died after surgery, the statement said.

One officer was treated for an injury and discharged from the hospital. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said Saturday his office had already gotten involved without waiting for the GBI to finish its investigation.

“My office has already launched an intense, independent investigation of the incident,” Howard said in a statement, saying members of his staff “were on scene shortly after the shooting, and we have been in investigative sessions ever since to identify all of the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident.”

The officers involved in the shooting was not identified. Once its investigation is complete, the case will be turned over to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office for review.

With AP

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/world/atlanta-police-shoot-dead-black-man-after-alleged-struggle-in-restaurant-drivethrough/news-story/f5f2b956512d4e9f5fec44e3725920b8