Shortly after Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields resigned from the role Saturday evening, the department announced early Sunday that the police officer who fatally shot a black man Friday evening has been fired.
The officer, Garrett Rolfe, shot and killed 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks in a Wendy's parking lot, where Brooks had been found asleep in his parked car in the drive-thru. After officers woke Brooks, he failed a sobriety test. Video then shows Rolfe, along with his fellow officer Devin Brosnan — who has been placed on administrative leave — struggling with Brooks, who grabbed one of the officer's tasers and appeared to point it at them after running away. Shots are heard on the video, but the footage did not capture Rolfe drawing his weapon and firing, shooting Brooks, The Associated Press reports.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms did not believe the shooting was justified, adding that multiple incidents in which Atlanta police officers used excessive force amid protests sparked by George Floyd's killing showed the department has failed to meet the city's expectations. She also said it was Shields' own decision to step down.
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In response to Brooks' death, protesters set fire to the Wendy's where the shooting took place and blocked traffic on a stretch of highway, actions which resulted in dozens of arrests. Read more at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Associated Press.
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