A Wendy's restaurant in Atlanta was set on fire by protesters after Rayshard Brooks was shot dead following an altercation with police officers.
ADVERTISEMENTAn Atlanta police officer has been fired, and another placed on administrative duty, after a black man was shot in a restaurant car park .
A new wave of protests broke out in the city after Rayshard Brooks, 27, died after police shot him in a Wendy’s car park on Friday night.
On Saturday the restaurant was set alight by protesters.
The fired police officer has been named as Garrett Rolfe. The police department released body camera and dash camera footage from both officers.
On Saturday the Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields resigned. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms told a press conference: “I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force and have called for the immediate termination of the officer.”
The killing has reignited tensions and protests over racial injustice, that had seemed to be calming down following widespread unrest over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
George Floyd’s death led to demonstrations across the world, with people marching against racism and police brutality.
What happened to Rayshard Brooks?
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said the officers were responding to a complaint of a man sleeping in a car blocking the drive-through at the Wendy’s restaurant, and that Rayshard Brooked failed a sobriety test, and then resisted arrest.
The GBI Brooks had taken a Taser from one of the officers during a struggle, and appeared to have pointed it at the officer as he tried to run away from the police. The officer then opened fire with his gun.
L Chris Stewart, a lawyer for Brooks's family, said the officer who shot him should be charged for “an unjustified use of deadly force, which equals murder.”
“You can't have it both ways in law enforcement,” Stewart said. “You can't say a Taser is a nonlethal weapon ... but when an African American grabs it and runs with it, now it's some kind of deadly, lethal weapon that calls for you to unload on somebody.”
He said Brooks was a father of four and had celebrated a daughter's eighth birthday Friday before he was killed.