Atlanta Protesters Torch Wendy's, Block Interstate After Police Shoot Black Man

Protesters on Saturday evening torched a Wendy's fast-food restaurant near where an Atlanta police officer shot dead a black man Friday (June 12) night. Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields resigned following the shooting of Rayshard Brooks, 27, after Mayor Keisha Bottoms said she did not think the incident "justified the use of deadly force."

Garrett Rolfe, the officer who fired the shots was terminated late Saturday night after the protests erupted; Rolfe has been with APD since 2013. A second officer, Devin Bronsan, was placed on administrative duty

Reports said the interstate has been shut down after protesters marched to the Interstate 85 and Interstate 75 connector in Atlanta. Television images showed the Wendy's on fire and the Atlanta Fire Department said fire crews had to wait until they could get to the fire safely.

WBSB-TV reported at 12.50 a.m. that some protesters were still on the highway but things had calmed down.

It said a video released by the APD showed police talking with Brooks for 27 minutes before the scuffle ensues. It said that "both of the APD bodycams end up on the pavement before the shooting."

The shooting comes on the heels of the weeks-long nationwide protests and violence over the death of another black man, George Floyd, at the hands of the Minneapolis police in May. Floyd's death reignited long-simmering anger and tensions over racial discrimination and abusive and aggressive policing that disproportianately targeted black people.

Brooks was the father of three daughters and a stepson, his family's lawyers said. He worked in a tortilleria.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said the GBI was probing Brooks's death.

Saturday's protests erupted after Chief Shields resigned and Mayor Bottoms asked the officer who shot Brooks to be fired. Bottoms, a Democrat, was a prominent critic of Trump over the President's invoking Floyd's name, and is now being mentioned as a possible vice-presidential candidate for Democratic nominee Joe Biden's ticket.

The incident occured when two Atlanta Police officers responded to the Wendy's, located at 125 University Avenue, around 10.30 p.m. Friday after a call that a man was found sleeping in a car in the restaurant's parking. The man, Rayshard Brooks, reportedly failed a field sorbiety test, resisted arrest and ran away with the stun gun of one of the officers, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said in a statement. One of the officers then shot Brooks, who died in a hospital.

"The GBI has obtained additional surveillance video from the Wendy's restaurant. Agents have also reviewed video posted on social media. 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," the GBI's updated statement read. It said a copy of the video will be released to the public.

"I do not believe this was a justified use of deadly force," Mayor Bottoms said, adding it was Erika Shields' decision to step aside as chief of the APD and that Shields would remain with the department.

Stacey Abrams, a former Georgia gubernatorial candidate, tweeted: "Sleeping in a drive-thru must not end in death."

Elsewhere, CNN reported that small group of protesters marched in Washington, D.C., from the Lafayette Square area and onto a highway.