Medical examiner calls Rayshard Brooks' manner of death a homicide
The Fulton County Medical Examiner issued a report Sunday ruling Rayshard Brooks' manner of death a "homicide." The report concluded Brooks suffered two gunshots to the back that created organ injuries and blood loss.
An Atlanta police officer was fired Saturday for the fatal shooting outside a Wendy's on Friday night. The Wendy's where Brooks was killed was set ablaze the following night.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said Sunday on CNN there are three charges that could apply against former Atlanta Police Officer Garrett Rolfe: Murder, felony murder or aggravated assault. "But I believe in this instance, what we have to choose between, if there's a choice to be made, is between murder and felony murder," Howard said.
Protests continued in Atlanta on Sunday nearly three weeks after the death of George Floyd and two days after Brooks' death.
More than 100 people, some with umbrellas and rain gear after intermittent rain, protested peacefully at the site Sunday evening, according to The Associated Press.
Earlier, a group of protesters marched for 8.46 miles to George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis after an officer kneeled on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, CBS Atlanta affiliate WGCL reports. The Georgia NAACP plans to hold a "March on Georgia" at the state capitol in Atlanta on Monday, when the Assembly returns to work.
The NAACP said the march will be to "demand state legislators address our legislative demands and ensure criminal justice reform, repealing citizen's arrest, stopping voter suppression, and ending police violence against our communities as well as stopping harmful anti-voting rights bill SB 463."
Monday's march will also feature a speech from Atlanta Hawks Head Coach Lloyd Pierce, WGCL reported.
Rolfe, the officer involved in Friday's shooting, has been fired, a department spokesperson said early Sunday. Devin Brosnan, another officer at the scene, was placed on administrative duty. Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields stepped down as chief on Saturday.
Police said Brooks fell asleep in the Wendy's drive-thru on Friday night and had failed a sobriety test. When police tried to take him into custody, Brooks resisted and stole a Taser from an officer, police claim. Brooks ran from the officers, and at one point, aimed the Taser at police before the officer fired his weapon, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said, citing surveillance video that was released to the public.
Protesters gathered Saturday night at the Wendy's where Brooks was killed and some overtook a nearby interstate. Police said fireworks were thrown inside, setting the fast-food restaurant ablaze. Cortez Stafford, a spokesman for Atlanta Fire Rescue, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the blaze grew because it wasn't safe to get to the area near the restaurant when the fire began. He estimated there were about 1,000 people outside the Wendy's.
Justin Carissimo and Audrey McNamara contributed to this report.
