Protests In Atlanta Over Police Shooting Of Rayshard Brooks

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Protests have taken place in Atlanta over the shooting of an African-American who had fallen asleep in his car at a drive-through restaurant.

Rayshard Brooks died after struggling with police officers on Friday, authorities say.

Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields has resigned over the death.

It comes as protesters across the US take to the streets over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in police custody.

According to police, Brooks resisted arrest after he failed a breathalyzer test.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigations is probing the death of Brooks, 27, and is looking at video taken by an eyewitness.

In the video, he can be seen on the ground outside a Wendy’s restaurant, struggling with two police officers.

He grabs an officer’s Taser and breaks free from the officers, running away. The other officer then manages to use a Taser on Brooks and both officers then run out of the frame of the video.

Gun shots can then be heard and Brooks is seen on the ground.

He was taken to hospital but later died. One of the officers was treated for an injury from the incident.

The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office is conducting a separate investigation into the incident, it said in a statement.

This is the 48th officer-involved shooting the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has investigated this year, according to ABC News. Of those cases, 15 of those were fatal.

A number of protesters gathered outside the Wendy’s on Friday, according to the New York Times.

Protests then began again in the centre of Atlanta on Saturday. Images from the protest show demonstrators holding signs with Brooks’ name and Black Lives Matter signs.

People in Atlanta had already been protesting following the death of George Floyd. He died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for over eight minutes. The officer has been sacked and charged with second-degree murder.

Demonstrations have taken place across the US and across the world since Floyd’s death.

Minneapolis City Council passed a resolution on Friday to replace its police department with a community-led public safety system. Just days before it voted to disband the police department.

— BBC

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