Residents of Maplewood, South Orange, and West Orange march on June 13, 2020 in South Orange, New Jersey.Protests continued across the nation for the 19th day in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. (Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)
Atlanta Police Shoot and Kill Rayshard Brooks as Protests Demanding Racial Justice Continue Worldwide
"This is not the first time a black man has been killed for sleeping," said Rev. James Woodall, state president of the Georgia NAACP.
Demands for accountability and sweeping reforms mounted Saturday after Atlanta police shot and killed Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old black man, Friday night amid a wave of global protests against police violence and systemic racism sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis late last month.
"Sleeping in a drive-thru must not end in death."
--Stacey Abrams, Georgia activist
In a message to Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Saturday, the Georgia NAACP tweeted that the city's police department "needs a serious overhaul. The continuation of these kinds of actions require immediate resolution. Instead of seeing an improvement, it continues to happen day after day."
The Georgia NAACP said the Atlanta Police Department (APD) "has had a culture of excessive use of force" and called for Police Chief Erika Shields to be "relieved immediately." The group also demanded the release of "body cam footage and all surveillance video from surrounding buildings" to shed light on Brooks' killing.
Bottoms announced during a Saturday afternoon news conference that Shields offered her resignation, which she accepted. The mayor also said that she does "not believe this was a justified use of deadly force" and she has "called for the immediate termination of the officer" who shot Brooks.
Brooks died following surgery at a local hospital after APD officers were dispatched to a Wendy's restaurant around 10:30 pm Friday to respond to "a complaint of [Brooks] in a vehicle parked in the drive-thru asleep, causing other customers to drive around the vehicle," according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), which is investigating the shooting. The involved officers have not yet been publicly identified.
GBI initially said that after Brooks failed a field sobriety test, "officers attempted to place the male subject into custody. During the arrest, the male subject resisted and a struggle ensued" involving a Taser. In an updated statement Saturday, GBI said, "An earlier account of this incident was based on the officer's body cam which was knocked off during the physical struggle, preventing the capture of the entire shooting incident."
Video footage of Brooks' encounter with APD circulated on social media and appears to show him running away from officers when he was shot. The updated GBI statement said the bureau had "obtained additional surveillance video from the Wendy's restaurant," which was released to the public.
"Agents have also reviewed video posted on social media," GBI added. "These new videos indicate that during a physical struggle with officers, Brooks obtained one of the officer's Tasers and began to flee from the scene. Officers pursued Brooks on foot and during the chase, Brooks turned and pointed the Taser at the officer. The officer fired his weapon, striking Brooks."
Rev. James Woodall, state president of the Georgia NAACP, told reporters Saturday that "this is not the first time a black man has been killed for sleeping." He added that "while Atlanta is often called 'the Black Mecca,' the Atlanta Police Department has a continued history of antagonizing our communities."
The Washington Post reported that during a call with journalists Saturday afternoon,
Woodall stopped short of calling for Bottoms' resignation, but said that it was her responsibility to ensure citizens have "the kind of police department the City of Atlanta deserves." Woodall also called out the lack of public statements from the mayor's office and police department as of early Saturday afternoon.
Woodall said the Georgia NAACP has hired a private investigator and that a press conference would take place Tuesday morning.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Woodall was asked if his group has been in contact with Bottoms or APD. "At this present moment," he said, "we have not heard from the mayor herself or the police chief, and the silence is deafening."
Stacey Abrams, a Georgia voting rights activist who ran for governor as a Democrat in 2018, took to Twitter Saturday to demand investigations and accountability in this case as well as broader reforms in local policing. She declared: "Sleeping in a drive-thru must not end in death."
Brooks' death added to the growing outrage over police violence toward people of color, particularly black Americans, that has fueled #DefundPolice demands and demonstrations across the U.S. and in other countries for nearly three weeks.
Saturday also saw demonstrations in other U.S. cities including Washington, D.C. as well as in London, Paris, Prauge, and Perth, the capital of Western Australia. Some events in Europe drew far-right counter-protesters who clashed with police.
This post was updated after Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced Saturday that police Chief Erika Shields had resigned.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just four days to go in our Spring Campaign, we are not even halfway to our goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Demands for accountability and sweeping reforms mounted Saturday after Atlanta police shot and killed Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old black man, Friday night amid a wave of global protests against police violence and systemic racism sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis late last month.
"Sleeping in a drive-thru must not end in death."
--Stacey Abrams, Georgia activist
In a message to Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Saturday, the Georgia NAACP tweeted that the city's police department "needs a serious overhaul. The continuation of these kinds of actions require immediate resolution. Instead of seeing an improvement, it continues to happen day after day."
The Georgia NAACP said the Atlanta Police Department (APD) "has had a culture of excessive use of force" and called for Police Chief Erika Shields to be "relieved immediately." The group also demanded the release of "body cam footage and all surveillance video from surrounding buildings" to shed light on Brooks' killing.
Bottoms announced during a Saturday afternoon news conference that Shields offered her resignation, which she accepted. The mayor also said that she does "not believe this was a justified use of deadly force" and she has "called for the immediate termination of the officer" who shot Brooks.
Brooks died following surgery at a local hospital after APD officers were dispatched to a Wendy's restaurant around 10:30 pm Friday to respond to "a complaint of [Brooks] in a vehicle parked in the drive-thru asleep, causing other customers to drive around the vehicle," according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), which is investigating the shooting. The involved officers have not yet been publicly identified.
GBI initially said that after Brooks failed a field sobriety test, "officers attempted to place the male subject into custody. During the arrest, the male subject resisted and a struggle ensued" involving a Taser. In an updated statement Saturday, GBI said, "An earlier account of this incident was based on the officer's body cam which was knocked off during the physical struggle, preventing the capture of the entire shooting incident."
Video footage of Brooks' encounter with APD circulated on social media and appears to show him running away from officers when he was shot. The updated GBI statement said the bureau had "obtained additional surveillance video from the Wendy's restaurant," which was released to the public.
"Agents have also reviewed video posted on social media," GBI added. "These new videos indicate that during a physical struggle with officers, Brooks obtained one of the officer's Tasers and began to flee from the scene. Officers pursued Brooks on foot and during the chase, Brooks turned and pointed the Taser at the officer. The officer fired his weapon, striking Brooks."
Rev. James Woodall, state president of the Georgia NAACP, told reporters Saturday that "this is not the first time a black man has been killed for sleeping." He added that "while Atlanta is often called 'the Black Mecca,' the Atlanta Police Department has a continued history of antagonizing our communities."
The Washington Post reported that during a call with journalists Saturday afternoon,
Woodall stopped short of calling for Bottoms' resignation, but said that it was her responsibility to ensure citizens have "the kind of police department the City of Atlanta deserves." Woodall also called out the lack of public statements from the mayor's office and police department as of early Saturday afternoon.
Woodall said the Georgia NAACP has hired a private investigator and that a press conference would take place Tuesday morning.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Woodall was asked if his group has been in contact with Bottoms or APD. "At this present moment," he said, "we have not heard from the mayor herself or the police chief, and the silence is deafening."
Stacey Abrams, a Georgia voting rights activist who ran for governor as a Democrat in 2018, took to Twitter Saturday to demand investigations and accountability in this case as well as broader reforms in local policing. She declared: "Sleeping in a drive-thru must not end in death."
Brooks' death added to the growing outrage over police violence toward people of color, particularly black Americans, that has fueled #DefundPolice demands and demonstrations across the U.S. and in other countries for nearly three weeks.
Saturday also saw demonstrations in other U.S. cities including Washington, D.C. as well as in London, Paris, Prauge, and Perth, the capital of Western Australia. Some events in Europe drew far-right counter-protesters who clashed with police.
This post was updated after Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced Saturday that police Chief Erika Shields had resigned.
Demands for accountability and sweeping reforms mounted Saturday after Atlanta police shot and killed Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old black man, Friday night amid a wave of global protests against police violence and systemic racism sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis late last month.
"Sleeping in a drive-thru must not end in death."
--Stacey Abrams, Georgia activist
In a message to Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Saturday, the Georgia NAACP tweeted that the city's police department "needs a serious overhaul. The continuation of these kinds of actions require immediate resolution. Instead of seeing an improvement, it continues to happen day after day."
The Georgia NAACP said the Atlanta Police Department (APD) "has had a culture of excessive use of force" and called for Police Chief Erika Shields to be "relieved immediately." The group also demanded the release of "body cam footage and all surveillance video from surrounding buildings" to shed light on Brooks' killing.
Bottoms announced during a Saturday afternoon news conference that Shields offered her resignation, which she accepted. The mayor also said that she does "not believe this was a justified use of deadly force" and she has "called for the immediate termination of the officer" who shot Brooks.
Brooks died following surgery at a local hospital after APD officers were dispatched to a Wendy's restaurant around 10:30 pm Friday to respond to "a complaint of [Brooks] in a vehicle parked in the drive-thru asleep, causing other customers to drive around the vehicle," according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), which is investigating the shooting. The involved officers have not yet been publicly identified.
GBI initially said that after Brooks failed a field sobriety test, "officers attempted to place the male subject into custody. During the arrest, the male subject resisted and a struggle ensued" involving a Taser. In an updated statement Saturday, GBI said, "An earlier account of this incident was based on the officer's body cam which was knocked off during the physical struggle, preventing the capture of the entire shooting incident."
Video footage of Brooks' encounter with APD circulated on social media and appears to show him running away from officers when he was shot. The updated GBI statement said the bureau had "obtained additional surveillance video from the Wendy's restaurant," which was released to the public.
"Agents have also reviewed video posted on social media," GBI added. "These new videos indicate that during a physical struggle with officers, Brooks obtained one of the officer's Tasers and began to flee from the scene. Officers pursued Brooks on foot and during the chase, Brooks turned and pointed the Taser at the officer. The officer fired his weapon, striking Brooks."
Rev. James Woodall, state president of the Georgia NAACP, told reporters Saturday that "this is not the first time a black man has been killed for sleeping." He added that "while Atlanta is often called 'the Black Mecca,' the Atlanta Police Department has a continued history of antagonizing our communities."
The Washington Post reported that during a call with journalists Saturday afternoon,
Woodall stopped short of calling for Bottoms' resignation, but said that it was her responsibility to ensure citizens have "the kind of police department the City of Atlanta deserves." Woodall also called out the lack of public statements from the mayor's office and police department as of early Saturday afternoon.
Woodall said the Georgia NAACP has hired a private investigator and that a press conference would take place Tuesday morning.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Woodall was asked if his group has been in contact with Bottoms or APD. "At this present moment," he said, "we have not heard from the mayor herself or the police chief, and the silence is deafening."
Stacey Abrams, a Georgia voting rights activist who ran for governor as a Democrat in 2018, took to Twitter Saturday to demand investigations and accountability in this case as well as broader reforms in local policing. She declared: "Sleeping in a drive-thru must not end in death."
Brooks' death added to the growing outrage over police violence toward people of color, particularly black Americans, that has fueled #DefundPolice demands and demonstrations across the U.S. and in other countries for nearly three weeks.
Saturday also saw demonstrations in other U.S. cities including Washington, D.C. as well as in London, Paris, Prauge, and Perth, the capital of Western Australia. Some events in Europe drew far-right counter-protesters who clashed with police.
This post was updated after Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced Saturday that police Chief Erika Shields had resigned.