Protests intensified in Atlanta, USA, after a white police officer shot dead an unarmed 27-year-old African American man named Rayshard Brooks in the parking lot of a Wendy’s fast-food restaurant on Friday.
The encounter was caught on surveillance camera and by a witness. Police approached Brooks after he had fallen asleep in his car. The police questioned Brooks, patted him down and gave him a breathalyzer test. During a scuffle, he grabbed one of the officers’ stun guns and attempted to run away. Another officer then shot Brooks in the back two times. The officer, Garrett Rolfe, can then be heard on a bodycam video saying, “I got him.” The Fulton County medical examiner has ruled Brooks’s death a homicide. Less than 24 hours after the shooting, Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields resigned. The officer involved in the shooting was fired.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said, “[Brooks] did not seem to present any kind of threat to anyone, and so the fact that it would escalate to his death just seems unreasonable.” This is Chris Stewart, a lawyer for the Brooks family.
Chris Stewart: “That’s the case law here, that Tasers are not deadly weapons. So, before we even hear from their lawyers, who are going to say the same old thing they always say, you cannot have it both ways. You can’t say he ran off with a weapon that could kill somebody, when you say it’s not deadly.”
Protests continued in Atlanta throughout the weekend. On Saturday night, the Wendy’s fast-food restaurant was burned down.
In Palmdale, California, calls are mounting for an independent investigation into the death of 24-year-old Robert Fuller, a Black man who was found dead hanging from a tree in a park Wednesday.
City officials initially said he died by suicide, suggesting the cause was due to “mental anguish” related to the coronavirus pandemic. But Fuller’s loved ones believe he was lynched, and the community has been holding protests calling for justice. A number of politicians, including California Senator Kamala Harris, have joined the call for an investigation.
Fuller’s death came 10 days after another Black man, 38-year-old Malcolm Harsch, was found dead and hanging from a tree about 50 miles away, in Victorville, California, on May 31. Malcolm Harsch’s family says they are awaiting the results of a coroner’s report, but they are doubtful he would have killed himself.
- Foreign Media