Rayshard Brooks’s death has led to Atlanta’s police chief stepping down.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is investigating the killing of a 27-year-old black man, Rayshard Brooks, outside a Wendy’s drive-through in Atlanta by police on Friday night. The incident has further galvanized anti-racism and police brutality protests in the city and prompted activists to call for the firing of Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields —a call she responded to by resigning Saturday afternoon.
According to the GBI, Atlanta police officers were called to the scene around 10:30 pm after receiving a complaint of a man sleeping in his vehicle, which was blocking the drive-through and forcing other cars to drive around it.
The police officers gave Brooks a field sobriety test, and he failed, according to investigators. The GBI claimed in an initial statement released Saturday — based on limited body camera footage and police and witness accounts — that this is what transpired following the testing:
After failing the test, the officers attempted to place the male subject into custody. During the arrest, the male subject resisted and a struggle ensued. The officer deployed a Taser. Witnesses report that during the struggle the male subject grabbed and was in possession of the Taser. It has also been reported that the male subject was shot by an officer in the struggle over the Taser.
The GBI later reported in an update that it had obtained surveillance from Wendy’s and reviewed a viral video captured by a witness’s cell phone that was posted to social media, saying video evidence appears to show Brooks grabbing the taser and pointing it at an officer.
“These new videos indicate that during a physical struggle with officers, Brooks obtained one of the officer’s Tasers and began to flee from the scene,” the statement reads. “Officers pursued Brooks on foot and during the chase, Brooks turned and pointed the Taser at the officer. The officer fired his weapon, striking Brooks.”
In the graphic video posted to social media, it’s difficult to assess exactly what is happening at several points before Brooks was shot because a significant amount of the struggle takes place off camera.
