ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta mayor accepted the resignation of the city’s police chief on Saturday and called for the immediate firing of a white police officer who shot a young black man to death after a DUI stop and a struggle over a Taser.
Atlanta police on Sunday quickly released body-camera and other footage that captured the shooting death of a black man by a white officer who was swiftly fired — moves that policing experts said could help defuse anti-racism protests that were reignited by the shooting.
Atlanta police said Officer Garrett Rolfe was been fired after he fatally shot Rayshard Brooks, 27, on Friday night, and another officer, Devin Brosnan, had been placed on administrative duty. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Saturday called for the immediate firing of the officer who shot Brooks and said she had accepted the resignation of Police Chief Erika Shields.
"I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force," Bottoms said.
Roughly 150 protesters marched Saturday night around the Wendy's restaurant near where Brooks was shot, reigniting demonstrations that largely simmered in the Georgia capital for nearly three weeks after George Floyd, another black man, died when a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee to his neck. Both Rolfe and Brosnan are white.
The firing of Rolfe and the quick release of the video to the public could go a long way toward easing tensions in the city, said Andy Harvey, a veteran law enforcement officer who is police chief in Ennis, Texas, and the author of books and training curriculum on community policing.
"Transparency today is a whole different ball game. It's what the community expects," Harvey said. "We have to always be open about the good, the bad and the ugly — not just the good. I think it actually builds trust and confidence when we're open about the ugly as well."
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said that Brooks, who was seen on body camera video sleeping in a car blocking a Wendy's drive-through, failed a sobriety test and was shot after a struggle over a police Taser.
Authorities announced a $10,000 reward for information finding those responsible for setting fire to the Wendy's restaurant at the shooting scene. More than 100 people, some sporting umbrellas and rain gear after on-and-off rain, protested peacefully at the site Sunday evening. Police blocked some side streets, slowing traffic in the area as people held up signs.
The two officers’ body cameras and the dash-mounted cameras in their patrol cars showed they spent more than 40 minutes peacefully questioning Brooks. The fighting erupted when they tried to handcuff him.
"I know you're just doing your job," Brooks says on video after consenting to a breath test. He mentions celebrating his daughter's birthday and says: "I just had a few drinks, that's all."
Rolfe doesn't tell Brooks the results though his body camera recorded a digital readout of 0.108 — higher than the 0.08-gram blood alcohol content considered too intoxicated to drive in Georgia.
"All right, I think you've had too much to drink to be driving," Rolfe tells Brooks. "Put your hands behind your back."
The video shows each officer take hold of one of Brooks’ wrists as Rolfe tries to handcuff him. Brooks tries to run and the officers take him to the ground.
"Stop fighting!" one officer yells.
One of the dash cameras recorded the brawl. As Brooks fights to stand, Brosnan presses a Taser to his leg and threatens to stun him. Brooks grabs the Taser and pulls it away. He struggles to his feet, the Taser in his hand, and starts running.
