IF YOU DON'T WANT TO GET HURT, DON'T RESIST AN ARREST

Demonstrators protesting after black man shot by white officer at Atlanta fast food restaurant

 

By Emilie Ikeda

 

Fox 5 Atlanta

June 13, 2020

 

ATLANTA - Protests erupted on University Avenue overnight after an officer-involved shooting landed a man, who protestors say is black, in the hospital. The GBI is now investigating and said the man died after undergoing surgery.

Atlanta police units initially responded to a 911 call reporting a suspicious person at Wendy's around 10:30 p.m. Friday. Officers found a man asleep in his car, parked in the drive-thru lane and blocking customers, according to GBI.

They reportedly conducted a sobriety test, but when they attempted to arrest the man, identified as 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks, a struggle ensued.

Deputy Chief Timothy Peek, with Atlanta police, described officers' numerous attempts to deploy Tasers.

"Ultimately, when the officer used the Taser, it was ineffective for the suspect," Peek said. "It did not stop the aggression of the fight."

Peek added preliminary information shows Brooks  was able to take an officer's Taser from him and use it against the officers.

 

The GBI reported that at some point during the struggle over the Taser, Brooks was shot by an officer.

The late-night shooting fanned the flames around existing tensions with APD. Protests against police brutality just surpassed two weeks in Atlanta.

A crowd lined the Wendy's parking lot overnight -- full of people enraged by videos seen on social media that appear to show the scuffle leading up to gunfire between two white police officers and a black man.

Members of the crowd told FOX 5's Emilie Ikeda that the deputy chief did try explaining what investigators uncovered so far, but many expressed skepticism towards the department's narrative.

"I guess he was trying to clear it up, it was just all the stories were conflicting, none of it made sense, it was like they were trying to cover up something," one protestor described.

In the meantime, District 3 Councilman Antonio Brown empathized with the angered crowd but urged social media users to wait for the facts.

"What's important is information is being properly disseminated about what has occurred," Brown said. "There's misinformation that's given that sparks an outrage."

The GBI said one officer was injured but has since been released from the hospital. Peek told FOX 5 the officers were visibly shaken following the incident.