More Protests In US As Another Black Man Killed By Cops Amid Outrage Over George Floyd's Death

Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and now Rayshard Brooks, these are some of the names of black men reportedly killed by the police in the United States, and the list only keeps growing.

Even as the global outrage against racism which was triggered by the police killing of George Floyd, another black man was killed by the cops. Twenty-seven-year-old Rayshard Brooks was shot by the police outside a Wendy's restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia.

REUTERS

Police were called to Wendy¡¯s over reports that Brooks had fallen asleep in the drive-thru line. Officers attempted to take him into custody after he failed a field sobriety test, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Video shot by a bystander captures Brooks struggling with two officers on the ground outside the Wendy¡¯s before breaking free and running across the parking lot with what appears to be a police TASER in his hand.

REUTERS

The GBI released the security camera video of the shooting Saturday. The footage shows a man running from two white police officers as he raises a hand, which is holding some type of object, toward an officer a few steps behind him. The officer draws his gun and fires as the man keeps running, then falls to the ground in the parking lot.

According to the family's lawyer, Brooks was the father of a young daughter who was celebrating her birthday on Saturday. Atlanta police had no right to use deadly force even if he had fired the TASER, a non-lethal weapon, in their direction. "You can't shoot somebody unless they are pointing a gun at you," attorney Chris Stewart said.

REUTERS

Following the killing of Brooks, a group of angry demonstrators set fire to Wendy's Restaurant where the incident happened and blocked major roads demanding an end to the racial killing of back people by the cops.

Fire at Wendy's on University Ave in southwest Atlanta raging. A night to remember in Atlanta: Rayshard Brooks shot by an officer, the chief of Atlanta police resigned, and protesters stormed the interstate. Now, fire. #AtlantaShooting #AtlantaProtest pic.twitter.com/Fgjq7jhDiZ

¡ª Ric Garni (@RICGARNI) June 14, 2020

Protesters in Atlanta shutdown an interstate after the murder of Rayshard Brooks by police. #RayshardBrooks #AtlantaShooting #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/xoxQpjoVuC

¡ª Omar Moore (@thepopcornreel) June 14, 2020

Images on local television showed the restaurant in flames for more than 45 minutes before fire crews arrived to extinguish the blaze, protected by a line of police officers. By that time the building was reduced to charred rubble next to a gas station.

REUTERS

Amid the outrage, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she had accepted the prompt resignation of police chief Erika Shields over the killing. "I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force and have called for the immediate termination of the officer," Bottoms had earlier said at a news conference.