Protests Close Interstate, Wendy's Burned After Police Shooting

ATLANTA, GA — Protesters marched onto the Downtown Connector and a Wendy's restaurant that was the scene of a fatal police-involved shooting was set ablaze Saturday night. The streets filled after the death of a black man, who was shot by Atlanta police Friday when he resisted arrest after failing a field sobriety test.

The Fulton County district attorney has launched an independent investigation following the death of Rayshard Brooks, 27, of Atlanta. Witnesses said Brooks struggled with police over a Taser, ran from officers and was shot.

GBI Director Vic Reynolds said at a news conference that video showed Brooks grabbed an officer’s Taser, ran a few feet away and then pointed it at officers before they fired, WSB TV said. Authorities have not released the name of the officer who fired the fatal shot.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Atlanta Police Department was called to the Wendy's restaurant at 125 University Ave. around 10:30 p.m. Friday for a complaint of a man in a vehicle parked in the drive-thru who was asleep, causing customers to drive around the vehicle.

The man, later identified as Brooks, failed a field sobriety test, and officers attempted to place him in custody, according to the GBI. But he resisted and a struggle ensued, leading the officer to use a Taser.

The GBI said witnesses saw Brooks grab the Taser away from the officer.

“It has also been reported that the male subject was shot by an officer in the struggle over the Taser,” the GBI said in a statement.

Brooks was taken to a local hospital, where he died after surgery, the statement said.

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The incident is currently being investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which upon completion was to be turned over to the Fulton County district attorney.

However, District Attorney Paul Howard Jr. issued a statement Saturday, confirming his office has already launched an "intense" investigation into the incident.

"Officers were on scene shortly after the shooting, and we have been in investigative sessions ever since to identify all the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident," the statement reads.

Brooks, a father of three girls and a stepson, celebrated his daughter’s 8th birthday on Friday before he was killed, WSB reported.

The family has hired attorney L. Chris Stewart to represent them.

"I’m just heart broken bc I KEEP having to see little kids and play with them knowing their dad is dead," Stewart tweeted Saturday. "What do I tell them? It didn’t have to happen. For me to start losing faith in policing hurts bc I’ve always been someone trying to find balance."

A cell phone video shared by Atlanta attorney Gerald Griggs shows Brooks apparently running away from the officers when the shooting occurred. In the video, Brooks can be seen on the ground struggling with the two officers before getting up and running.

One of the officers deployed his Taser at Brooks while running after him, 11 Alive reported. A moment later, multiple gunshots can be heard.

Numerous other videos posted to social media sites showed a small crowd gathered at the scene Saturday to protest the police shooting, according to The Associated Press.

At the protest, Atlanta City Councilwoman Joyce Sheperd told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she saw the video online and didn’t believe the fatal shooting was justified.

The officer involved in the shooting has not been identified. One officer was treated for an injury and discharged from the hospital.

The district attorney's office is asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident to call the Fulton County District Attorney's Office Tip Line at 404-612-4903. Any information, photos or videos of the incident can be sent to donald.hannah@fultoncountyga.gov.