Atlanta police chief resigns after fatal shooting of black man

Protesters gather on University Ave near a Wendy’s restaurant in Atlanta Credit: Steve Schaefer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP

Atlanta’s police chief has resigned hours after a black man was fatally shot by officers in a struggle.

Authorities said the dead man had grabbed an officer’s Taser, but was running away when he was shot.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced the resignation of Police Chief Erika Shields at a Saturday news conference as roughly 150 protesters marched outside the Wendy’s restaurant where 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks was fatally shot late on Friday.

The mayor also said she called for the immediate firing of the officer who opened fire at Mr Brooks.

“I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force and have called for the immediate termination of the officer,” Ms Bottoms said.

She said it was Ms Shields’ own decision to step aside as police chief and that she would remain with the city in an undetermined role.

Interim Corrections Chief Rodney Bryant would serve as interim police chief until a permanent replacement is found.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the shooting, said the deadly confrontation started with officers responding to a complaint that a man was sleeping in a car blocking the restaurant’s drive-thru lane.

The GBI said Mr Brooks failed a field sobriety test and then resisted officers’ attempts to arrest him.

The GBI released security camera video of the shooting on Saturday. The footage shows a man running from two police officers as he raises a hand, which is holding some type of object, towards an officer a few steps behind him.

The officer draws his gun and fires as the man keeps running, then falls to the ground in the car park.

GBI director Vic Reynolds said Mr Brooks had grabbed a Taser from one of the officers and appeared to point it at the officer as he fled, prompting the officer to reach for his gun.

“In a circumstance like this where an officer is involved in the use of deadly force, the public has a right to know what happened,” Mr Reynolds told a news conference on a day when protesters gathered at the scene of the shooting and in other areas of Atlanta.

The shooting came at a time of heightened tension over police brutality and calls for reforms across the US following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.