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Protesters storm the streets after cop shoots, kills sleeping black man

Atlanta's police chief has resigned as protesters took to the streets hours after the fatal shooting by police of a black man who had fallen asleep in his car at a Wendy's fast-food restaurant drive-thru line.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said on Saturday she accepted the resignation of police chief Erika Shields after the killing of Rayshard Brooks, 27, of Atlanta.

Dozens of protesters gathered by late afternoon around the spot south of downtown where the man was shot and killed.

"I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force and have called for the immediate termination of the officer," Bottoms said at a news conference.

Protesters march near the Georgia Capitol after an Atlanta Police Department officer was involved shooting which left a black man, Rayshard Brooks, 27, dead.  Source: EPA
Protesters march near the Georgia Capitol after an Atlanta Police Department officer was involved shooting which left a black man, Rayshard Brooks, 27, dead. Source: EPA

Atlanta's police did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Authorities have not yet released the names of the two officers involved in the shooting, both of whom were white.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said it was investigating the incident. Police said Brooks resisted arrest after failing a field sobriety test.

Protests began on Saturday afternoon and were expected to continue through the day.

The killing of Brooks came after weeks of intense racial equality protests across the United States following the death of George Floyd, a black man killed in Minneapolis police custody when an officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

The Georgia investigators said video taken by an eyewitness was aiding their probe.

A small group of protesters gather at the scene of an overnight Atlanta Police Department officer involved shooting which where Rayshard Brooks died.  Source:  EPA
A small group of protesters gather at the scene of an overnight Atlanta Police Department officer involved shooting which where Rayshard Brooks died. Source: EPA

GBI director Vic Reynolds said during a news conference that video captured by cameras inside the Wendy's restaurant appeared to show that Brooks had one of the officer's Tasers in his hand when he fled.

"At that point, the Atlanta officer reaches down and retrieves his weapon from his holster, discharges it, strikes Mr Brooks there on the parking lot and he goes down," Reynolds said.

In the eyewitness video, Brooks is first seen on the ground outside his car, struggling with two officers.

He appears to grab for the Taser of one officer, who was using the device on Brooks' leg. After a few seconds, Brooks breaks free and begins to run. One officer then uses a Taser on him. The pair then run out of the frame of the video.

Protestors carry signs with Rayshard Brooks' name.
The investigation by the GBI into the police involved shooting is the 48th in Georgia the agency has been asked to look into during 2020. Source: EPA

Gun shots are heard along with someone yelling "I got him!" The video then shows Brooks apparently lifeless on the ground.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, Jr., said in an emailed statement that his office "has already launched an intense, independent investigation of the incident" while it awaits the findings of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

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