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Atlanta’s police chief resigned Saturday hours after Rayshard Brooks, a Black man, was fatally shot by an officer in a struggle outside a fast food restaurant. Authorities said the slain man had grabbed an officer’s Taser but was running away when he was shot.
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Anti-racism protesters on Saturday sought to call attention to the death of another Black man, who was found hanging from a tree in California.
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One of the four former Minneapolis police officers who was charged over the death of Floyd was released on $750,000 bail.
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Floyd, a Black man, died on May 25 after a policeman knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. His death has sparked nationwide calls for policing reforms.
Here are the latest updates:
Sunday, June 14
04:14 GMT – Protesters burn down Wendy’s in Atlanta where Black man was slain
Protesters have shut down a major highway in the US city of Atlanta and set fire to a Wendy’s restaurant where a Black man was shot by police as he tried to escape arrest, an incident caught on video and expected to fuel more nationwide demonstrations.
The unrest broke out after dark in Atlanta where, earlier in the day, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she had accepted the prompt resignation of police chief Erika Shields over the death on Friday night of 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks at the restaurant.
Images on local television showed the restaurant in flames for more than 45 minutes before fire crews arrived to extinguish the blaze, protected by a line of police officers. By that time, the building had been reduced to charred rubble next to a gas station.
GBI released video that shows the moment Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed by an Atlanta Police officer at a Wendys on University Ave last night. Police say Brooks had taken an officer’s taser and pointed it at the officer as he ran. pic.twitter.com/1G8fn03gFV
— Matt Johnson (@MattWSB) June 13, 2020
04:00 GMT – Missouri police chief on leave over inflammatory posts
A rural Missouri police chief has been placed on leave over inflammatory Facebook posts about protests over the death of George Floyd.
Keven Suedmeyer, police chief in Auxvasse, about 56 kilometres (35 miles) northeast of Jefferson City, was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation, Mayor Tom Henage said Friday.
“Racism is not condoned or tolerated by the City of Auxvasse,” Henage said in a news release. When asked by the Jefferson City News-Tribune if that meant he considered the posts, which were on Suedmeyer’s personal Facebook page, to be racist, Henage said he did not.
Suedmeyer’s home phone rang unanswered Saturday when The Associated Press tried to call him for comment.
In a May 31 post, Suedmeyer wrote that if someone stands in the street blocking traffic, that person deserves “to be run over. That will help cleanup the gene pool.”
When Will Shackelford, a candidate for Callaway County western district commissioner, responded, “Have you come across any road blocks?”, Suedmeyer wrote, “Nope (and) I certainly won’t stop for them – though if they insist – I’ll identify myself – they can back down or get shot.”
On June 2, he wrote: “Corona virus coming to rioters everywhere Darwin – work your magic Time to ramp up the funeral industry.” A city alderman, Bret Barnes, was among Suedmeyer’s friends who hit “like” on the post.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
