Atlanta Police Chief Resigns After Cops Fatally Shoot Black Man

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced Saturday that police Chief Erika Shields is resigning after officers shot and killed a Black man at a Wendy’s restaurant Friday.

The police were responding to a call about someone sleeping in his car, which was parked in the drive-thru  at the restaurant.

Police said that Rayshard Brooks, 27, resisted arrest following a failed sobriety test. But video posted to social media showed Brooks running away from police before he is shot off-screen.

“I do not believe this was a justified use of deadly force and have called for the immediate termination of the officer,” the mayor said at a Saturday news conference.

The officer involved in the shooting has not been identified.

The Georgia NAACP had called for Shields to be fired prior to her resignation. 

Friday night, two officers found Brooks in the vehicle and gave him a field sobriety test, which they said he failed. While attempting to arrest Brooks, police said he resisted. 

“After failing the test, the officers attempted to place the male subject into custody,” Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Nelly Miles said in a statement. “During the arrest, the male subject resisted and a struggle ensued. The officer deployed a Taser.”

Witnesses said Brooks grabbed the Taser from the officer before being shot, according to the GBI.

Brooks was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The GBI said it’s now investigating the incident.

Video posted to social media shows people gathered in the Wendy’s parking lot condemning the shooting. Witnesses said Brooks was unarmed.

This story has been updated to include details about Atlanta police Chief Erika Shields’ resignation.