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The Atlanta police chief resigned on Saturday after a police officer fatally injured a suspect during an attempted arrest. Demonstrations erupted to protest the new death of an African-American victim of the police.
New case in the United States against a background of racial violence. The chief of police in Atlanta, the state capital of Georgia, resigned on Saturday June 13 after a police officer fatally injured Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old African-American, during an attempted arrest .
Protesters blocked a freeway and set fire to Wendy’s fast food restaurant near which the man was shot in a confrontation with police, local media reported.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, whose name has been put forward as a possible running mate of Democrat Joe Biden for the November presidential election, has announced the resignation of Erika Shields, who had been in charge of the Atlanta Police Force for more. 20 years old.
Atlanta’s protests often feel like the local version of a national tragedy. Tonight, University Ave—where #RashardBrooks was shot, where the Connector was blocked, where Wendy’s was set ablaze—felt like the first time the tragedy of an APD shooting grabbed the nation’s attention. pic.twitter.com/67MMVSTUeC
— Max Blau (@MaxBlau) June 14, 2020
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“Due to her desire for Atlanta to be a model of what meaningful reform should be across the country, Erika Shields tendered her immediate resignation as chief of police,” the mayor said in televised statements.
“Physical struggle with officers”, according to police report
They come as numerous protests against police violence and against racism have been taking place for weeks in the United States and other countries, following the death of George Floyd, an African-American who died of suffocation by a police officer .
According to an official report, Rayshard Brooks fell asleep in his car on Friday night on the drive-in driveway of Wendy’s restaurant, and establishment employees called the police because his vehicle was blocking customers. The man was alcoholic and resisted when police tried to arrest him, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation report said.
CCTV footage shows “that during a physical struggle with the officers, Brooks grabbed the Taser from one of the officers and fled,” according to the report. “Officers pursued Brooks on foot and during the pursuit Brooks turned and pointed the Taser at the officer. The officer used his gun, hitting Brooks,” the document reads.
Brooks was rushed to a hospital and underwent surgery but died soon after, the report says, which adds that an officer was injured. The mayor said the officer who fired the fatal shot should be removed.
With AFP
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