A white Atlanta Police officer shot and killed a black man after an altercation on Friday night, sparking renewed protests in the city, the officer’s firing and the police chief’s resignation.
Rayshard Brooks, 27, was shot dead by an officer Friday night at a Wendy’s drive-through in the city. Surveillance video and bystander video from the scene show that Brooks took an officer’s Taser during an attempted arrest and then fired the Taser at the officers as he ran away. One officer then shot Brooks with his service weapon, authorities said.
The killing, in the midst of nationwide protests calling to end racism and police violence against black people, had rapid repercussions.
Less than a day later, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she did not believe this was a justified use of deadly force.
The officer who killed Brooks was terminated Saturday, police spokesman Carlos Campos said. He was identified by police as Garrett Rolfe. A second officer involved in the killing, identified as Devin Brosnan, was placed on administrative duty, Campos said.
Rolfe was hired in 2013 and Brosnan has been with the department since 2018, police said.
Atlanta protests have been ongoing since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the end of May. Floyd died after pleading for his life while a Minneapolis officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
In Atlanta, protesters started gathering after Brooks was shot, but tensions escalated Saturday night, when larger crowds congregated in the area surrounding the Wendy’s where the shooting occurred.
By nightfall, the fast-food eatery was engulfed in flames. It took firefighters more than an hour to approach the building as it was surrounded by protesters, CNN affiliate WSB reported.
A major interstate was also shut down after protesters marched onto a connector and were met by lined up police vehicles.
Police responded to a call Friday night about a man sleeping in a parked vehicle in the restaurant’s drive-through lane, causing other customers to drive around it, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. When they arrived, police gave Brooks a sobriety test, which he failed, according to the agency.
He resisted arrest, struggled with the officers and grabbed a Taser, the agency said. A video from a witness captured that struggle. The video, shot from a cell phone, shows a scuffle between two officers and Brooks. Brooks eventually seems to break free and starts running away.
Surveillance video provided by the GBI shows him running from the officers and appears to point the stun gun in their direction before falling to the ground.
He was shot and taken to the hospital, where he died, the GBI says. An officer was treated for an injury and released.
