Police killing of black man prompts new protests in US
Atlanta drive-through set on fire as demonstrators take to the streets and politicians call for reforms
AMERICA was hit by a new wave of protests over the weekend following the killing of a 27-year-old black man by a white police officer in Atlanta on Friday night.
The shooting of Rayshard Brooks, 27, brought demonstrators onto the streets. On Saturday night, protesters blocked a freeway and the Wendy’s fast-food restaurant where Mr Brooks was shot dead was burned down.
In California, hundreds of demonstrators gathered to demand an investigation into the death of another black man, Robert Fuller, whose body was found hanging from a tree last week.
They called for an independent autopsy, challenging the official verdict that Mr Fuller had killed himself.
The death of Mr Brooks dashed hopes that the protests across the world sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis were dissipating, at least in the US.
Police were called to the Wendy’s drive-through after complaints that Mr Brooks had fallen asleep at the wheel and was blocking one of the lanes.
According to video footage, what began as a routine breath test – with no sign of aggression from either the police or Mr Brooks – escalated after the officers attempted to arrest him for drink driving.
During the struggle, Mr Brooks fled, having grabbed a police taser. Then he appeared to turn and aim the taser at the pursuing officers. One of them, Garrett Rolfe, opened fire. Mr Brooks died in hospital after surgery.
As tension mounted, city police chief Erika Shields resigned on Saturday night. Officer Rolfe was sacked yesterday and his colleague, Devin Brosnan, placed on administrative leave.
Atlanta’s mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, who has been tipped as a possible presidential running mate for Joe Biden, condemned the shooting.
“I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force,” she said.
Stacey Abrams, a Georgia Democrat and another potential Biden running mate, tweeted: “Sleeping in a drivethru must not end in death.”
The latest killings have renewed the focus on police tactics in the US, with senior politicians in both parties calling for reforms.
“It’s another reminder that police can’t continue to be judge, jury and executioner,” said Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar on CNN’S State of the Union.
On the same programme James Lankford, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, called for a ban on chokeholds as a method of restraint.
A ban on chokeholds was included in a police reform bill passed by the Democrat-controlled House last week.
It is likely to form part of a police reform bill which will be introduced in the Republican-controlled Senate this week by Tim Scott, the African American senator for South Carolina.
Some Democrats are pushing for radical action including “defunding” – or scrapping – police departments.
However, Mr Biden has distanced himself from that, as did Ms Abrams, who said supporters were being drawn into a “false idea”.
Speaking on ABC’S This Week, she said, “We need reformation of how police officers do their jobs.”