On Friday, an Atlanta police officer shot and killed 27 year old Rayshard Brooks at a Wendy’s drive-thru. It will not surprise you to learn that Brooks was a Black man, and the officer was white. His murder is yet another in the countless police murders of Black people, and it happened in the midst of our country’s long overdue reckoning with racism and the power of the police.
The killing has had immediate repercussions in Atlanta. Police Chief Erika Shields has resigned, and Garrett Rolfe, the officer who killed Brooks, was fired the next day. A second officer involved, Devin Brosnan, was placed on desk duty. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms spoke out about the death, saying, “While there may be debate as to whether this was an appropriate use of deadly force, I firmly believe that there is a distinction between what you can do and what you should do.”
Fulton County DA Paul Howard said, “(Brooks) did not seem to present any kind of threat to anyone, and so the fact that it would escalate to his death just seems unreasonable, … It just seems like this is not the kind of conversation and incident that should have led to someone’s death.”
The Wendy’s where the murder took place was set on fire. And protesters continue to take to the streets, fueled by anger and frustration. The DA and the Mayor have moved swiftly, but what will it take to stop the police? Why does global outrage and protest not stop white cops from killing Black people?
What will it take? Defund, demilitarize, and deescalate the police or abolish them? The world will continue to march in protest until something changes. Something HAS to change.
(via CNN, image: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
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what in the world kind of pig cat eats like this pic.twitter.com/q1LojIN6bY
— Luke in Philadelphia (@tramL116) June 13, 2020
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