Via – The Washington Examiner

On Friday night in Atlanta, we witnessed an all-too-familiar scene in the age of viral video. A bystander used a cellphone to capture video of two cops engaged in a violent struggle on the ground with a noncompliant suspect.

Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year old black man, apparently fell asleep at the wheel in a Wendy’s drive-thru lane. After a citizen’s complaint call, two Atlanta Police Department officers were dispatched and encountered Brooks, who was now parked in the lot. A field sobriety test raised reasonable suspicion of Brooks being under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.

The cops then performed their sworn duty to enforce the law and attempted to take Brooks into custody. A violent, sustained struggle ensues. Brooks then grabs an officer’s Taser and attempts to flee on foot. Both officers give chase. Wendy’s security camera footage released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation picks up the pursuit and clearly shows Brooks wheel around and appears to fire the Taser at the closest officer, less than 10 feet away.

In a split second, the targeted officer appears to duck, collides with a parked vehicle, switches his own Taser to the other hand, draws his sidearm, and fires at Brooks, leaving him mortally wounded on the pavement.

This still frame shows the moment Rayshard Brooks allegedly shot the stolen taser at the police officer while running passed the parked red car. The flash from the shot is visible.

Many in the media erroneously reported this as yet another “unarmed” black man killed by police. That description is wholly inaccurate and dangerous.

Protesters, already energized by the inexcusable death of George Floyd, descended upon the Wendy’s where Brooks was killed and set it ablaze. Cars were set afire. Demonstrators shut down traffic on I-75. Atlanta Police Department Chief Erika Shields submitted her resignation, which Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms immediately accepted. The officer who fired the fatal shot was denied due process and immediately fired. His partner was reassigned to “administrative duty.”

Continue read from the Washington Examiner HERE