Atlanta police have released dramatic body camera and dash camera video of the police interaction between two officers and 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks who was shot dead by police as he tried to evade arrest.
Friday's shooting came after police were called to a Wendy's fast food restaurant over reports that Mr Brooks had fallen asleep inside his car in the drive-through line. Officers attempted to take him into custody after he failed a field sobriety test, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The video showed Officer Devon Brosnan responding to the call and calling for a DUI-certified officer. Officer Garrett Rolfe then arrives, talks to Mr Brooks and asks him to undertake a field sobriety test.
After a calm exchange lasting 26 minutes, Mr Rolfe attempts to put handcuffs on Mr Brooks, who struggled with two officers on the ground outside the Wendy's before breaking free and running across the parking lot with what appears to be a police Taser in his hand.
A second videotape from the restaurant's cameras shows Mr Brooks turning as he runs and possibly aiming the Taser at the pursuing officers before one of them fires his gun and Mr Brooks falls to the ground.
Lawyers representing Mr Brooks' family told reporters that Atlanta police had no right to use deadly force even if he had fired the Taser, a non-lethal weapon, in their direction.
Rayshard Brooks pictured with his family. Source: Twitter 'pvtriots'
The police department has fired Mr Rolfe, the officer who allegedly shot and killed Mr Brooks, police spokesman Carlos Campos said late on Saturday. Mr Brosnan was put on administrative leave.
Both of the officers were white. Mr Rolfe joined the department in October 2013 and Mr Brosnan was hired in September 2018.
Mr Brooks' death followed weeks of demonstrations in major cities across the US sparked by the death of George Floyd, an African American man who died on 25 May after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes while detaining him.
Protesters march near the Georgia Capitol after police shot and killed Rayshard Brooks. Source: EPA
Mr Brooks was the father of a young daughter who was celebrating her birthday on Saturday, his lawyers said.
On Saturday, protesters shut down a major highway in Atlanta on Saturday and burned down the Wendy's restaurant where Mr Brooks was shot.
The restaurant was in flames for more than 45 minutes before fire crews arrived to extinguish the blaze, protected by a line of police officers, local television showed. By that time the building was reduced to charred rubble next to a gas station.
