Rayshard Brooks shooting: Protesters block traffic on Atlanta highway

ATLANTA — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said a man died after a shooting involving police at a Wendy’s restaurant drive-thru in Atlanta on Friday night.

The Atlanta Police Department responded to the fast-food location around 10:33 p.m. Friday night, WSB-TV reported. The GBI said officers received a complaint about a man, identified as 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks, of Atlanta, sleeping in a car in the restaurant’s drive-thru, forcing cars to drive around him.

Update 10:09 p.m. EDT June 13: A crowd protesting the death of Rayshard Brooks broke out windows and set fire to the inside of the Wendy’s restaurant where he was shot.

A group demonstrating the death of George Floyd joined a group gathered to protest the death of Brooks outside of the restaurant where Brooks was shot by Atlanta police.

Hundreds of people chanted Brooks’ name outside the Wendy’s, WSB-TV reported. Protesters also carried signs with Brooks’ name on them and demanded justice.

Update 9:59 p.m. EDT June 13: Demonstrators have shut down all lanes of an Atlanta highway Saturday night.

A group protesting the death of George Floyd joined a group gathered to protest the death of Rayshard Brooks. Brooks was killed in an altercation with Atlanta police outside a Wendy’s restaurant.

After multiple attempts, the group was able to get onto the highway.

Update 7:24 p.m. EDT June 13: Former Atlanta police Chief Erika Shields released a statement after resigning from the department Saturday afternoon.

“For more than two decades, I have served alongside some of the finest men and women in the Atlanta Police Department. Out of a deep and abiding love for this City and this department, I offered to step aside as police chief. APD has my full support, and Mayor Bottoms has my support on the future direction of this department. I have faith in the Mayor, and it is time for the city to move forward and build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.”

Update 5:44 p.m. EDT June 13: Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields has resigned and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has called for the immediate termination of the officer who shot Rayshard Brooks.

Update 4:54 p.m. EDT June 13: Investigators have obtained additional video of the incident from the Wendy’s restaurant and from social media, officials said.

Update, 3:58 p.m. EDT June 13: At a news conference Saturday afternoon, Vic Reynolds, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, promised transparency and asked for patience.

“We want everyone to see what we have seen," Reynolds said, adding that a digitally enhanced video would be made available later Saturday.

“We realize there’s a tremendous amount of emotion and passion,” Reynolds said. “I would humbly ask the public to wait a minute and see what we have seen.”

Update 3:45 p.m. EDT June 13: The Georgia branch of the NAACP is calling for Atlanta police Chief Erika Shields to be terminated immediately after the death of Rayshard Brooks on Friday night at a Wendy’s drive-thru in Atlanta.

“We are done dying,” Georgia NAACP President James Woodall said in a media call Saturday. “The City of Atlanta must not only address this with their words, but also their actions."

Original report: Officers performed a field sobriety test on Brooks. The GBI said the man failed the test and officers began to take him into custody, the television station reported.

The man resisted and a struggle took place over a Taser, according to witness reports.

“During the arrest, the male subject resisted and a struggle ensued. The officer deployed a Taser. Witnesses report that during the struggle the male subject grabbed and was in possession of the Taser,” the GBI said. “It has also been reported that the male subject was shot by an officer in the struggle over the Taser.”

The GBI said it is reviewing videos and asking witnesses to come forward and help, WSB reported.

Stacey Abrams, a former gubernatorial candidate in Georgia, criticized the shooting death.

Brooks’ death, Abrams tweeted, “Demands we severely restrict the use of deadly force.”

“Yes, investigations must be called for -- but so too should accountability,” Abrams tweeted.

Cox Media Group