A Wendy's restaurant, background, burns in Atlanta after demonstrators set it on fire. Demonstrators were protesting the death of Rayshard Brooks. Photo / AP
A Wendy's restaurant, background, burns in Atlanta after demonstrators set it on fire. Demonstrators were protesting the death of Rayshard Brooks. Photo / AP
An Atlanta police officer has been fired following the fatal shooting of a black man and another officer was placed on administrative duty, the police department announced today.
The moves follows the resignation of Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields, who stepped down as the killing of Rayshard Brooks, 27, sparked a new wave of protests in Atlanta after turbulent demonstrations that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis had simmered down.
The terminated officer was identified as Garrett Rolfe, who was hired in October 2013, and the officer placed on administrative duty is Devin Bronsan, who was hired in September 2018, according to a release from police spokesperson John Chafee.
Angry protesters burn down scene of US shooting
The Atlanta restaurant where a police officer chased and shot dead Rayshard Brooks has been set on fire by protesters.
The 27-year-old was reported to police for sleeping in a car blocking the Wendy's drive-through, and was shot after he failed a field sobriety test and resisted arrest, authorities said.
A crowd of more than 150 demonstrators gathered earlier in the day outside the restaurants, and it has since gone up in flames.
A Wendy's restaurant, background, burns in Atlanta after demonstrators set it on fire. Demonstrators were protesting the death of Rayshard Brooks. Photo / AP
Flames engulf a Wendy's restaurant during protests. Photo / AP
A person holds a sign as a Wendy's restaurant burns in Atlanta as demonstrators protest the death of Rayshard Brooks. Photo / AP
"The people are upset," lawyer and vice president of Atlanta's NAACP chapter Gerald Griggs said.
"They want to know why their dear brother Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed when he was merely asleep on the passenger side and not doing anything."
Even though Brooks struggled with officers, Griggs said, "They could have used nonlethal force to take him down."
The shooting comes at a time of heightened tension over police brutality and calls for reforms across the US following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Atlanta was among US cities where large crowds of protesters took to the streets.
VIDEO REVEALS VICTIM WAS RUNNING AWAY
Surveillance video footage of the moment Brooks was chased and shot has been released.
The footage, released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, shows Brooks firing a Taser toward the officer, who chased him through the car park before shooting and killing him.
A video posted to social media showed Brooks grappling with two officers attempting to arrest him, with one appearing to try to stun him with the Taser after Brooks threw a punch at him.
As Brooks ran away, appearing to hold the Taser, one officer chased after him, holding another stun gun. Then, in one video, several gunshots were heard.
The GBI initially said in a statement that witnesses described Mr Brooks being shot "in the struggle over the Taser".
But after obtaining Wendy's surveillance video, the bureau revised its account, saying it "was based on the officer's body cam which was knocked off during the physical struggle, preventing the capture of the entire shooting incident".
"During the chase, Brooks turned and pointed the Taser at the officer," the bureau said, adding that "the officer fired his weapon, striking Brooks".
A lawyer for Brooks' family, Chris Stewart, has disputed the official account of the shooting, saying officers put on plastic gloves and picked up their shell casings before rendering first aid to Brooks.
