Atlanta’s police chief resigned Saturday hours after a black man was fatally shot by officers in a struggle following a field sobriety test. Authorities said the slain man had grabbed an officer’s Taser, but was running away when he was shot. Police Chief Erika Shields stepped down as the killing of 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks sparked a new wave of protests in Atlanta after turbulent demonstrations that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis had simmered down. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced the police chief’s resignation at a Saturday news conference as roughly 150 people marched outside the Wendy’s restaurant where Brooks was fatally shot late Friday. The mayor also called for the immediate firing of the unidentified officer who opened fire at Brooks. “I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force and have called for the immediate termination of the officer,” Bottoms said. She said it was Shields’ own decision to step aside as police chief and that she would remain with the city in an undetermined role. Interim Corrections Chief Rodney Bryant would serve as interim police chief until a permanent replacement is found. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the shooting, said the deadly confrontation started with officers responding to a complaint that a man was sleeping in a car blocking the restaurant’s drive-thru lane. The GBI said Brooks failed a field sobriety test and then resisted officers’ attempts to arrest him. The GBI released security camera video of the shooting Saturday. The footage shows a man running from two police officers as he raises a hand, which is holding some type of object, toward an officer a few steps behind him. The officer draws his gun and fires as the man keeps running, then falls to the ground in the parking lot. GBI Director Vic Reynolds said Brooks had grabbed a Taser from one of the officers and appeared to point it at the officer as he fled, prompting the officer to reach for his gun. “In a circumstance like this where an officer is involved in the use of deadly force, the public has a right to know what happened,” GBI Director Vic Reynolds told a news conference on a day when protesters gathered at the scene of the shooting and in other areas of Atlanta. The security camera video does not show Brooks’ initial struggle with police. The shooting came at a time of heightened tension over police brutality and calls for reforms across the U.S. following the May 25 death of Floyd in Minneapolis. Atlanta was among U.S. cities where large crowds of protesters took to the streets. Demonstrators including members of Brooks’ family gathered Saturday outside the restaurant where he was shot. Police shut down streets for several blocks around the restaurant as protesters marched peacefully in the streets. There was a short, tense standoff with Georgia state troopers who lined up to block protesters as they tried to march onto a nearby interstate highway. The demonstrators eventually turned away. Among those protesting was Crystal Brooks, who said she is Rayshard Brooks’ sister-in-law. “He wasn’t causing anyone any harm,” she said. “The police went up to the car and even though the car was parked they pulled him out of the car and started […]
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