Atlanta Police release bodycam footage of Rayshard Brooks shooting
Hundreds of people started protesting in Atlanta following another police shooting that prompted seven officers to resign.
As people continue to protest all over the United States over George Floyd’s death over two weeks ago, another officer-involved shooting occurred in Atlanta on June 12. According to multiple reports, Rayshard Brooks was in a Wendy’s restaurant celebrating his little girl’s eighth birthday hours before he was shot and killed by the police.
The celebration for his daughter was going to continue throughout the weekend. However those plans were brought to an end when the 27-year-old father of four was shot dead by an Atlanta police officer outside the fast-food restaurant on Friday night.
“She had her birthday dress on because she was waiting for her dad to come pick her up to take her to go skating. While we were over there. They had a birthday party for her eighth birthday today with cupcakes, we were sitting there talking with her mom about why her dad’s not coming home,” said the Brooks family attorney at a press conference on Saturday.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Brooks had been asleep in his car at the drive-through after celebrating his daughter's birthday, causing other customers to drive around the vehicle.
Police arrived at Wendy's around 10:30pm and conducted a sobriety exam on Brooks, who failed the test and then resisted officers’ attempts to arrest him. According to investigators, Brooks had grabbed a Taser from one officer and appeared to point it at the officer as he started fleeing. When this occurred the officer fired three shots at Brooks, who later died at a local hospital.
Police bodycam footage released
As the investigation continues, Atlanta Police have released bodycam and dashcam video footage showing the moments leading to the fatal shooting. There are also several videos of the incident posted on Twitter, which the police are also using in their investigation.
Shooting led to officer's firing and chief’s resignation
The death of Rayshard Brooks sparked new protests in Atlanta and other parts of the United States, as well as the involved officer's dismissal and the police chief’s resignation. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she didn’t believe Brook’s death was justified use of deadly force after seeing the videos.