Moment white cops fatally shoot black driver, 27, after he fell asleep at restaurant drive-thru
Distressing video footage captured the moment a 27 year-old black man was fatally shot by a white police officer after he fell asleep at a Wendy’s drive-thru. The dead man, named as Rayshard Brooks, was shot outside the fast food restaurant in Atlanta on Thursday night after trying to run away from two police officers.
Video shot from inside a car showed the cops tussling with Brooks on the ground outside the Wendy’s. Brooks managed to free himself, got up and began running away. One of the cops could be seen in pursuit while brandishing a Taser.
Seconds later, gunshots rang out, and Brooks could be seen laying on the ground. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died during emergency surgery.
Atlanta Police Department Deputy Chief Timothy Peek has since said Brooks was shot after resisting arrest, and grabbing hold of a Taser officers had tried to subdue him with.
Brooks reportedly fell asleep in his car while it was parked in the Wendy’s drive-thru line, forcing other customers to go around him and prompting a call to police.
Peek told Fox5: ‘Ultimately, when the officer used the Taser, it was ineffective for the suspect. It did not stop the aggression of the fight.’
Brooks’ death has inflamed tensions less than three weeks after George Floyd’s killing at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin triggered Black Lives Matter protests across the US.
Local councilor Antonio Brown said he empathized with Black Lives Matter protesters, but urged them to wait for more information about the case.
He said: ‘What’s important is information is being properly disseminated about what has occurred. There’s misinformation that’s given that sparks an outrage.’
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is now investigating Brooks’ death. One cop injured during the scuffle has since been released from hospital.
It came almost three weeks after George Floyd was filmed gasping ‘I can’t breathe’ as Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the security guard’s neck for eight minutes 46 seconds.
Floyd died soon afterwards, with Chauvin now facing a second-degree murder charge.
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