Protests against racism continue nationwide
A makeshift memorial popped up Sunday at a fastfood restaurant where a black man was fatally shot by a white Atlanta police officer, one of the latest deaths of black men that have ignited a new wave of anti-racism protests across the country.
Early Sunday, Atlanta police announced that an officer, Garrett Rolfe, had been fired following the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks, 27, on Friday night, and another officer, Devin Brosnan, had been placed on administrative duty. On Saturday, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms had called for the immediate firing of the officer who opened fire on Mr. Brooks and announced that she had accepted the resignation of police Chief Erika Shields.
“I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force,” Ms. Bottoms said.
Roughly 150 protesters marched Saturday outside the Wendy’s restaurant where Mr. Brooks was killed, reigniting demonstrations that had largely simmered in the Georgia capital nearly three weeks after George Floyd, another black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee to his neck. Both Mr. Rolfe and Officer Brosnan are white.
The Wendy’s was set aflame at one point Saturday night, although the fire was out before midnight. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said that Brooks, who was seen on bodycam video sleeping in a car blocking the Wendy’s drive thru, failed a sobriety test and was shot in a struggle over a police Taser.
Atlanta police said Sunday that 36 people had been arrested in connection with the protests but gave no further details.
Meanwhile, the rapidly unfolding movement to take down Confederate statues in the U.S. grew over the weekend.
In Richmond, Va., a police SUV drove up on a curb and struck multiple protesters who were blocking the vehicle’s path during a demonstration Saturday night at a statue of Robert E. Lee that has become a gathering place for racial justice demonstrations. No one appeared to be seriously injured, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
In messages posted on Twitter early Sunday morning, the Richmond Police Department said police are investigating the incident, including what it called “a possible assault” on an officer who was inside the vehicle. The department said it is also investigating reports on social media “that a person in the crowd may have been struck by the vehicle.”
Spokespersons for the department did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Sunday morning.
In Philadelphia, a group of about 100 people, some carrying guns and baseball bats, gathered around a statue of Christopher Columbus in Philadelphia on Saturday, saying they intended to protect it from vandals amid recent protests.
“It would be over my dead body before they got to this statue,” Anthony Ruggiero, 41, told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “This is a part of history.”
In a tweet Sunday, Mayor Jim Kenney condemned the “groups of armed individuals ‘protecting’” the statue.
Meanwhile, three people were charged in the vandalism of a statue of Columbus in Providence, R.I.
Protesters in New Orleans tore down a bust of a slave owner Saturday who left part of his fortune to New Orleans’ schools, then took the remains to the Mississippi River and rolled it down the banks into the water.
And in Tahlequah, Okla., the Cherokee Nation’s principal chief watched as two Confederate monuments were removed that were placed in its tribal headquarters nearly a century ago by the Daughters of the Confederacy.
Demonstrations also erupted over the weekend in Palmdale, Calif., where hundreds demanded an investigation into the death of Robert Fuller, 24, a black man found hanging from a tree earlier Wednesday near city hall.