ATLANTA (AP) — Pleading through grief and tears Monday, the family of a black man killed by Atlanta police outside a fast-food drive-thru called on protesters to refrain from violence and demanded changes in the criminal justice system to prevent such deaths.
About 20 of Brooks’ children, siblings, cousins and other family members sobbed openly at a news conference as more than 1,000 people gathered not far away for an NAACP-led protest outside the Georgia Capitol.
Officer Garrett Rolfe, who fired the shots that killed Brooks, has been fired, and the other officer at the scene, Devin Brosnan, has been placed on administrative duty.
Brooks was shot after police were called amid complaints that a car was blocking the drive-thru lane.
Video from the two officers’ body cameras and dash-mounted cameras on their cruisers showed Brooks cooperating for more than 40 minutes, telling them he had had a couple of drinks while celebrating his daughter’s birthday and consenting to a breath test.
