ATLANTA (AP) – Atlanta’s police chief is resigning after an officer fatally shot a man who snatched an officer’s Taser and ran after a struggle in a restaurant parking lot.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced Police Chief Erika Shields’s resignation Saturday.
“For more than two decades, I have served alongside some of the finest women and men 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,” Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields said.
The mayor told reporters she doesn’t believe the shooting of 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks was justified.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation released security camera video Saturday of the shooting. The GBI said Brooks resisted attempts to be taken into custody after he failed a field sobriety test and a struggle ensued over a Taser. The video showed Brooks appearing to point an object at an officer while running before he was shot.
