- Police have released bodycam and dashcam footage of the events before the fatal shooting of Black man Rayshard Brooks by a white police officer in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday.
- In the footage, the officers attempt to take Brooks into custody after he fails a Breathalyzer test.
- A scuffle breaks out and the bodycam falls to the ground. Three shots are then heard.
- The Fulton County medical examiner’s office ruled on Sunday that Brooks died from “gunshot wounds of the back,” which caused “organ injuries and blood loss.”
- Brooks’ death has provoked a fresh wave of protests against police brutality in the city, with the Wendy’s where the incident took place burnt to the ground Saturday.
Police have released bodycam and dashcam footage showing the chain of events leading up to the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks by police in Atlanta on Friday that led to a new wave of anti-racism protests in the city.
The footage of the incident was obtained by several news organizations on Saturday.
Footage from police officer Devin Brosnan shows him waking Brooks, 27, who is asleep at the wheel of a vehicle in the drive-through lane in a Wendy’s restaurant, at about 10:30 p.m. Brooks then moves his vehicle to a parking area, and officer Garrett Rolfe arrives.
For half an hour, the officers conduct a sobriety test on Brooks, which he failed, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations.
This is 43 minutes in – when the otherwise calm interaction escalated.
Officers try to arrest Brooks. Repeated shouts of “stop fighting”. This clip ends with what sound like 3 gunshots. pic.twitter.com/iKIjs5rxtc
— Blayne Alexander (@ReporterBlayne) June 14, 2020
After taking the test, an officer tells Brooks, “I think you’ve had too much to drink to be driving,” and attempts to take him into custody.
The situation then rapidly escalates.
About 43 minutes into the footage, a struggle breaks out between Brooks and the officers trying to cuff him.
The officers tell Brooks to “stop fighting,” and apparently try to subdue him with a Taser, shouting “You’re going to get Tased.” Then an officer shouts, “hands off the Taser.” At this point the bodycam appears to fall to the ground, and points up at the night sky.
One officer yells, “He’s got my fucking Taser!”
An officer is then seen drawing his weapon and three gunshots are then heard. The actual shooting is not shown in the footage.
Bystanders are then apparently heard remonstrating with the police officers.
The dashcam footage shows the officers trying to cuff Brooks, and struggling on the ground with Brooks, before he escapes and runs away.
Here’s the dash cam video of the attempted arrest just before officers shot Rayshard Brooks. pic.twitter.com/dfXwxCbWmU
— Charlie Gile (@CharlieGileNBC) June 14, 2020
According to local network WXIA-TV, officer Rolfe’s bodycam footage shows the same incidents, and also falls to the ground during the scuffle.
Security camera footage from the Wendy’s restaurant released by the GBI shows Brooks running from police when he is shot and falls down. Police say he pointed a Taser at an officer pursuing him.
WATCH: Authorities released this video showing the moment Rayshard Brooks was shot by Atlanta Police at a Wendys Friday night. Police say Brooks obtained an officer’s taser and pointed it back at the officer as he ran.
Brooks later died in a local hospital after surgery pic.twitter.com/XGBtKLBhDk
— Bloomberg QuickTake (@QuickTake) June 13, 2020
Brooks was rushed to an Atlanta hospital, where he died of his injuries. The Fulton County medical examiner’s office ruled on Sunday that Brooks died from “gunshot wounds of the back,” which caused “organ injuries and blood loss.”
Atlanta police chief Erika Shields resigned following the shooting.
On Saturday, the Wendy’s where the shooting took place was burnt to the ground, as demonstrators took to the streets to demand justice. Authorities on Sunday announced a $10,000 reward for information that could help find the arsonists responsible.
Atlanta’s Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has said she did not believe there “was a justified use of deadly force.”
Rolfe, one of the officers involved in the incident, has been fired, while the other officer, Brosnan, has been placed on administrative leave.
Brooks’ killing comes in the midst of the most widespread anti-racism protests in a generation following the death of George Floyd, who was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis in May.
On Sunday, L. Chris Stewart, an attorney for the Brooks family, said that the officer responsible for the killing should be charged for “an unjustified use of deadly force, which equals murder,” Associated Press reported.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said in a statement on Sunday that he hopes a decision about whether to bring charges against the officers will be announced midweek.
As reported by Business Insider