Police killing of black man in Atlanta adds to turmoil

Rayshard Brooks shot in back after scuffle in restaurant parking lot; police chief resigns

The tension in major cities across the United States over the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis intensified following the killing of another black man by police in Atlanta.

Protesters shut down a major highway in Atlanta on Saturday and burned down a Wendy's restaurant where Rayshard Brooks, 27, was fatally shot by police Friday as he fled to evade arrest. Both officers involved in the Atlanta altercation are white. The confrontation was captured on video.

The May 25 killing of Floyd after a white officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes unleashed an outpouring of protests and violence around the world.

The Wendy's restaurant in Atlanta was on fire for more than 45 minutes before firefighters arrived, protected by a line of police officers, local television showed. The building, which was next to a gasoline station, was reduced to charred rubble.

Other demonstrators marched onto Interstate Highway 75, stopping traffic, before police used a line of squad cars to hold them back.

The Atlanta police chief, Erika Shields, resigned as chief on Saturday over the shooting but as of Sunday will reportedly remain employed by the city.

The police department has fired the officer who allegedly shot and killed Brooks, police spokesman Carlos Campos said Saturday. Another officer involved in the incident was put on administrative leave.

The dismissed officer was identified by the department as Garrett Rolfe, who joined the force in October 2013. The officer placed on administrative duty is Devin Bronsan, who was hired in September 2018.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr said his office will decide if Rolfe will be charged in the case, which could result in a murder charge, he told CNN.

"(Brooks) did not seem to present any kind of threat to anyone, and so the fact that it would escalate to his death just seems unreasonable," Howard said. "If that shot was fired for some reason other than to save that officer's life or prevent injury to him or others, then that shooting is not justified under the law."

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she had accepted the resignation of the police chief.

"I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force and have called for the immediate termination of the officer," said Bottoms, who has been mentioned as a potential vice-presidential running mate for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

The Reverend James Woodall, president of the Georgia NAACP, called Shields' continued employment unacceptable, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution (AJC) reported. He alleged that national politics was a factor in Shields' resignation and continued employment.

"I want to be very clear that simple piecemeal solutions and symbolism just will not work," Woodall said.

On Monday, the Georgia NAACP will lead a march to the State Capitol as the General Assembly reconvenes after adjourning for the novel coronavirus pandemic, the AJC reported.

Brooks was the father of a young girl who was celebrating her birthday on Saturday, his lawyers said.

Street protests began on Saturday near the site of the shooting, with more than 100 people calling for the officers to be charged criminally.

On Friday, police were called to the Wendy's over reports that Brooks had fallen asleep in the drive-through lane. Officers attempted to take him into custody after he failed a field sobriety test, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).

A bystander's video showed Brooks struggling with two officers on the ground outside the fast-food restaurant before breaking free and running across the parking lot with what appears to be a police Taser, a stun gun, in his hand.

A second videotape from the restaurant's cameras shows Brooks turning as he runs and possibly aiming the Taser at the officers before one of them fires his gun, and Brooks falls to the ground. An autopsy on Sunday by the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office revealed that Brooks was shot in the back.

Brooks ran the length of about six cars when he turned back toward an officer and pointed what he had in his hand at the policeman, Vic Reynolds, director of the GBI, told a news conference.

"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," Reynolds said.

Lawyers representing Brooks' family told reporters that Atlanta police had no right to use deadly force even if he had fired the Taser, a nonlethal weapon.

"You can't shoot somebody unless they are pointing a gun at you," attorney Chris Stewart said.

Howard, the Fulton County district attorney, said in a statement that his office "has already launched an intense, independent investigation of the incident" while it awaits the GBI's findings.

Bottoms said Shields, a white woman appointed police chief in December 2016, would be replaced by Deputy Chief Rodney Bryant, a black man who will serve as interim chief.

Ken Allen, the Atlanta Police Union representative, said the rank and file was "devastated" by Rolfe's ousting and demoralized by Shields' departure as chief, the AJC reported.

In New York, after Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the state Legislature's police reform measures on Friday, he called on protesters to end their demonstrations.

"You don't need to protest, you won," Cuomo said Saturday. "You accomplished your goal. Society says you're right; the police need systemic reform."

Starbucks announced Friday that the coffee chain would allow workers to wear clothing and accessories supporting the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, reversing its stance after it was called out on social media and threatened with boycotts.

The company also said it will produce 250,000 shirts with a design that includes "Black Lives Matter" and "No Justice, No Peace" available to workers in its company-owned cafes in the US and Canada.

Reuters contributed to this story.