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| Atlanta police chief resigns after officers shoot dead African American man – as it happened | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Erika Shields quits after killing of Rayshard Brooks, 27, which mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says was not a justified use of force | Erika Shields quits after killing of Rayshard Brooks, 27, which mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says was not a justified use of force |
| Here’s a glance at today’s biggest news items ... | |
| Atlanta police chief resigns as mayor wants officer fired over Rayshard Brooks shooting. Keisha Lance Bottoms says shooting at drive-through restaurant after struggle did not represent ‘justified use of deadly force’. | |
| California protesters demand investigation into death of black man hanging from tree. Authorities in Palmdale vowed to look into Robert Fuller’s death after a medical examiner refused to label the death a suicide. | |
| Clemson to strip name of John C Calhoun from honors college. The South Carolina school’s trustees voted on Friday to rename its honors college, stripping the name of a former vice-president who was a leading defender of slavery. | |
| Kentucky Confederate statue removal reveals evidence of Jim Crow past. Aewspaper found in base of a marble Jefferson Davis structure is from 1936, long after the civil war for which the Confederate leader is known. | |
| ABC News executive on leave after allegations of racism. Barbara Fedida has been placed on administrative leave after a story was published today by HuffPost detailing allegations of racist and inappropriate statements. | |
| Fauci says US might not see ‘second wave’ of Covid-19 cases. The US public health expert said another wave of infections ‘not inevitable ... if you approach it the proper way’. | |
| Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard says he believes the NBA and other forms of entertainment are unnecessary distractions from the nationwide protest movement that is entering its fourth week following the death of George Floyd. | |
| The NBA is set to become the first major North American sports league to make a return to action when it resumes its season on 31 July at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. | |
| Hundreds of anti-racism demonstrators took to the streets of Palmdale in southern California on Saturday to demand a full investigation into the death of a 24-year-old black man found hanging from a tree near city hall. | Hundreds of anti-racism demonstrators took to the streets of Palmdale in southern California on Saturday to demand a full investigation into the death of a 24-year-old black man found hanging from a tree near city hall. |
| While the sheriff’s department said the initial results of a coroner’s investigation indicate Fuller’s death was a suicide, the protesters who gathered on Saturday described it a “lynching” and called on the state to investigate. | While the sheriff’s department said the initial results of a coroner’s investigation indicate Fuller’s death was a suicide, the protesters who gathered on Saturday described it a “lynching” and called on the state to investigate. |
| Former Atlanta police chief Erika Shields, who has resigned in the wake of Friday night’s fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks, has issued a statement: | Former Atlanta police chief Erika Shields, who has resigned in the wake of Friday night’s fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks, has issued a statement: |
| Several hundred protesters gathered at West 135th street and St Nicholas Avenue in Harlem this afternoon in what was advertised as a march to demand New York City mayor Bill de Blasio reinstate habeas corpus: the right of a detainee to be seen by a judge within 24 hours to determine whether the arrest was lawful. This constitutional right was controversially suspended by a state supreme court judge last week amid mass arrests during protests against police brutality. | Several hundred protesters gathered at West 135th street and St Nicholas Avenue in Harlem this afternoon in what was advertised as a march to demand New York City mayor Bill de Blasio reinstate habeas corpus: the right of a detainee to be seen by a judge within 24 hours to determine whether the arrest was lawful. This constitutional right was controversially suspended by a state supreme court judge last week amid mass arrests during protests against police brutality. |
| But it was so much more. | But it was so much more. |
| We heard an emotionally raw, urgent speech by Hawah Bah, the mother of Mohamed Bah, a 28-year-old immigrant from Guinea who was shot and killed inside his Harlem apartment by police officers in September 2012, after she’d called an ambulance to help her mentally distressed son. | We heard an emotionally raw, urgent speech by Hawah Bah, the mother of Mohamed Bah, a 28-year-old immigrant from Guinea who was shot and killed inside his Harlem apartment by police officers in September 2012, after she’d called an ambulance to help her mentally distressed son. |
| “When I heard George Floyd call for his mama, I felt it,” a tearful Bah said. “If they can kill a baby in front of his mother, that is not freedom. Stay on the streets until we have our rights.” | “When I heard George Floyd call for his mama, I felt it,” a tearful Bah said. “If they can kill a baby in front of his mother, that is not freedom. Stay on the streets until we have our rights.” |
| This was also partly a grassroots political rally for Kristin Richardson Jordan, a poet and educator who is seeking to become the first openly black gay woman to be elected to the New York City council. “I’m on a mission to disrupt this district with radical love,” Jordan said. “We want NYPD out of our schools, off our trains. ... In Harlem, black lives will matter.” | This was also partly a grassroots political rally for Kristin Richardson Jordan, a poet and educator who is seeking to become the first openly black gay woman to be elected to the New York City council. “I’m on a mission to disrupt this district with radical love,” Jordan said. “We want NYPD out of our schools, off our trains. ... In Harlem, black lives will matter.” |
| Anger towards the NYPD was prevalent during the rally including those particularly contentious moments when protestors chanted: “How do you spell racist? N-Y-P-D!” and “No justice, no peace, fuck the racist ass police!” at a line of cops stood in front of the 32th precinct. Moments later, Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, considered both a protest and love song, blasted out from the boom box that accompanied protesters south towards Frederick Douglass Circle Plaza, situated opposite the northwest corner of Central Park. | Anger towards the NYPD was prevalent during the rally including those particularly contentious moments when protestors chanted: “How do you spell racist? N-Y-P-D!” and “No justice, no peace, fuck the racist ass police!” at a line of cops stood in front of the 32th precinct. Moments later, Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, considered both a protest and love song, blasted out from the boom box that accompanied protesters south towards Frederick Douglass Circle Plaza, situated opposite the northwest corner of Central Park. |
| The chief of Atlanta’s police department has stepped down less than 24 hours after a black man was killed in a late-night struggle with officers after he failed a field sobriety test and resisted arrest. | The chief of Atlanta’s police department has stepped down less than 24 hours after a black man was killed in a late-night struggle with officers after he failed a field sobriety test and resisted arrest. |
| Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said during a news conference on Saturday afternoon that she had accepted the resignation of police chief Erika Shields. | Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said during a news conference on Saturday afternoon that she had accepted the resignation of police chief Erika Shields. |
| “I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force and have called for the immediate termination of the officer,” Bottoms said. “What has become abundantly over the last couple of weeks in Atlanta is that while we have a police force full of men and women who work alongside our communities with honor, respect and dignity, there has a been a disconnect with what our expectations are and should be as it relates to interactions with our officers and the communities in which they are entrusted to protect.” | “I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force and have called for the immediate termination of the officer,” Bottoms said. “What has become abundantly over the last couple of weeks in Atlanta is that while we have a police force full of men and women who work alongside our communities with honor, respect and dignity, there has a been a disconnect with what our expectations are and should be as it relates to interactions with our officers and the communities in which they are entrusted to protect.” |
| Police were called to the restaurant on a complaint that a man was sleeping in a car blocking the drive-thru lane as customers waited in line, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. The agency identified the man who was fatally shot as 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks. | Police were called to the restaurant on a complaint that a man was sleeping in a car blocking the drive-thru lane as customers waited in line, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. The agency identified the man who was fatally shot as 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks. |
| A crowd of demonstrators gathered Saturday outside the restaurant where Brooks was shot. Gerald Griggs, an attorney and a vice president of Atlanta’s NAACP chapter, estimated there were 150 people protesting at the scene as he walked with them Saturday afternoon. | A crowd of demonstrators gathered Saturday outside the restaurant where Brooks was shot. Gerald Griggs, an attorney and a vice president of Atlanta’s NAACP chapter, estimated there were 150 people protesting at the scene as he walked with them Saturday afternoon. |
| “The people are upset,” Griggs said. “They want to know why their dear brother Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed when he was merely asleep on the passenger side and not doing anything.” | “The people are upset,” Griggs said. “They want to know why their dear brother Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed when he was merely asleep on the passenger side and not doing anything.” |
| The AP reports from New Orleans where bars are letting in customers on Saturday for the first time in three months amid an atmosphere of uncertainty for owners: | The AP reports from New Orleans where bars are letting in customers on Saturday for the first time in three months amid an atmosphere of uncertainty for owners: |
| Fox News has removed digitally altered photos from its website after the Seattle Times noted misleading images used in the network’s coverage about the city’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), which has become a protest center against police brutality and racial injustice. | Fox News has removed digitally altered photos from its website after the Seattle Times noted misleading images used in the network’s coverage about the city’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), which has become a protest center against police brutality and racial injustice. |
| When asked by the Times about the clear breach of journalistic ethics, a Fox News spokeswoman said: “We have replaced our photo illustration with the clearly delineated images of a gunman and a shattered storefront, both of which were taken this week in Seattle’s autonomous zone.” | When asked by the Times about the clear breach of journalistic ethics, a Fox News spokeswoman said: “We have replaced our photo illustration with the clearly delineated images of a gunman and a shattered storefront, both of which were taken this week in Seattle’s autonomous zone.” |
| The chairman of the New York chapter of Black Lives Matter has said Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden “would be an idiot” to select two-term Florida congresswoman Val Demings, the two-term Florida congresswoman and former Orlando police chief, as his running mate. | The chairman of the New York chapter of Black Lives Matter has said Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden “would be an idiot” to select two-term Florida congresswoman Val Demings, the two-term Florida congresswoman and former Orlando police chief, as his running mate. |
| “Joe Biden would be an idiot to put her on his ticket. People are already on the fence about him,” the group’s Hawk Newsome, told the New York Post. | “Joe Biden would be an idiot to put her on his ticket. People are already on the fence about him,” the group’s Hawk Newsome, told the New York Post. |
| “When black people become police officers, they are no longer black. They are blue. And I have been told this by numerous officers,” the BLM official said that California senator Kamala Harris should also be disqualified after serving as San Francisco district attorney and the state’s attorney general.Demings, 63, is reportedly one of six female Democrats to have passed an initial round of vetting by Biden’s vice presidential search committee and has submitted documents for review. The former police chief is believed to be on a shortlist that includes Harris, Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, former national security adviser Susan Rice, New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.Demings worked as a uniformed patrol detective, information officer and internal affairs supervisor during her 27 years on the force, walking away in 2007 to lead the 700-strong Orlando police force before retiring four years later. | “When black people become police officers, they are no longer black. They are blue. And I have been told this by numerous officers,” the BLM official said that California senator Kamala Harris should also be disqualified after serving as San Francisco district attorney and the state’s attorney general.Demings, 63, is reportedly one of six female Democrats to have passed an initial round of vetting by Biden’s vice presidential search committee and has submitted documents for review. The former police chief is believed to be on a shortlist that includes Harris, Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, former national security adviser Susan Rice, New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.Demings worked as a uniformed patrol detective, information officer and internal affairs supervisor during her 27 years on the force, walking away in 2007 to lead the 700-strong Orlando police force before retiring four years later. |
| But during her time as police chief, the department was involved in a series of excessive-force controversies, including in 2010 when a department officer was involved in the injury of an 84-year-old second world war veteran who had complained about his car being towed.An internal review cleared Travis Lamont of wrongdoing with Demings telling the Palm Beach Post at the time: “After review of the defensive tactic … by the training staff and Officer Lamont’s chain of command, it appears the officer performed the technique within department guidelines.”A year later, another officer pushed a woman to the ground during a scuffle, breaking her teeth. After that incident, which was captured on video, Demings wrote an op-ed to the Orlando Sentinel: “Looking for a negative story in a police department is like looking for a prayer at church,” she wrote. “I believe a reasonable person also understands that a few seconds (even on video) rarely capture the entire set of circumstances.” | But during her time as police chief, the department was involved in a series of excessive-force controversies, including in 2010 when a department officer was involved in the injury of an 84-year-old second world war veteran who had complained about his car being towed.An internal review cleared Travis Lamont of wrongdoing with Demings telling the Palm Beach Post at the time: “After review of the defensive tactic … by the training staff and Officer Lamont’s chain of command, it appears the officer performed the technique within department guidelines.”A year later, another officer pushed a woman to the ground during a scuffle, breaking her teeth. After that incident, which was captured on video, Demings wrote an op-ed to the Orlando Sentinel: “Looking for a negative story in a police department is like looking for a prayer at church,” she wrote. “I believe a reasonable person also understands that a few seconds (even on video) rarely capture the entire set of circumstances.” |
| Police in South Carolina have released body camera footage of officers fatally shooting a handcuffed black man they said was wielding a gun in a Walmart parking lot. The Associated Press reports: | Police in South Carolina have released body camera footage of officers fatally shooting a handcuffed black man they said was wielding a gun in a Walmart parking lot. The Associated Press reports: |
| Kentucky governor Andy Beshear, who has led a push to take down a statue of Jefferson Davis at the state capitol, finished the job on Saturday with a push of a button. The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: | Kentucky governor Andy Beshear, who has led a push to take down a statue of Jefferson Davis at the state capitol, finished the job on Saturday with a push of a button. The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: |
| It’s been somewhat of a bearish week for the legacy of the first and only president of the CSA. A different Davis statue was toppled by protesters on Wednesday night in Richmond, which had been the capital of the Confederacy until it was captured in the later stages of the war. | It’s been somewhat of a bearish week for the legacy of the first and only president of the CSA. A different Davis statue was toppled by protesters on Wednesday night in Richmond, which had been the capital of the Confederacy until it was captured in the later stages of the war. |
| A relative of Rayshard Brooks, the African American man shot dead by police in Atlanta last night, has spoken about his grief and shock at the killing. | A relative of Rayshard Brooks, the African American man shot dead by police in Atlanta last night, has spoken about his grief and shock at the killing. |
| Decatur Redd spoke to reporters and a crowd that had gathered outside the Wendy’s where the 27-year-old Brooks was shot on Friday after police were called to reports of a man who had fallen asleep in his vehicle. | Decatur Redd spoke to reporters and a crowd that had gathered outside the Wendy’s where the 27-year-old Brooks was shot on Friday after police were called to reports of a man who had fallen asleep in his vehicle. |
| “I’ve watched this on the internet, from the whole George Floyd situation to us coming together like we’re doing and this whole thing landed on my doorstep with my little cousin,” Redd said. | “I’ve watched this on the internet, from the whole George Floyd situation to us coming together like we’re doing and this whole thing landed on my doorstep with my little cousin,” Redd said. |
| The George Bureau of Investigation and the country district attorney’s office are looking into the death. | The George Bureau of Investigation and the country district attorney’s office are looking into the death. |
| “We’ve been watching this happen for so many years, with young black boys around the country just dying in vain – I just don’t want that to continue and keep happening like that,” Redd said. | “We’ve been watching this happen for so many years, with young black boys around the country just dying in vain – I just don’t want that to continue and keep happening like that,” Redd said. |
| Redd added that he was shocked the incident had happened in Atlanta. “I didn’t think it would hit right here, man. I thought this city was better than that. They’ve got to answer. Somebody’s gotta say something,” Redd said, “We need to at least know that the city is with us.” | Redd added that he was shocked the incident had happened in Atlanta. “I didn’t think it would hit right here, man. I thought this city was better than that. They’ve got to answer. Somebody’s gotta say something,” Redd said, “We need to at least know that the city is with us.” |
| Director Ava DuVernay has endorsed a petition calling for Edmund Pettus Bridge in Montgomery, Alabama to be renamed the “John Lewis Bridge for Freedom”. The bridge was the location of the Bloody Sunday beatings by police of marchers campaigning for voting rights in 1965. | Director Ava DuVernay has endorsed a petition calling for Edmund Pettus Bridge in Montgomery, Alabama to be renamed the “John Lewis Bridge for Freedom”. The bridge was the location of the Bloody Sunday beatings by police of marchers campaigning for voting rights in 1965. |
| The episode featured in DuVernay’s Oscar-nominated 2014 film, Selma. Pettus was an Alabama senator and Klu Klux Klan Grand Wizard, while John Lewis is a veteran US politician and civil rights leader. | The episode featured in DuVernay’s Oscar-nominated 2014 film, Selma. Pettus was an Alabama senator and Klu Klux Klan Grand Wizard, while John Lewis is a veteran US politician and civil rights leader. |
| “I’ve just signed a petition about this bridge to dignity as seen in SELMA. It is named after a KKK grand wizard and confederate warlord,” wrote DuVernay on Twitter. “Edmund Pettus Bridge should be the John Lewis Bridge. Named for a hero. Not a murderer. Join this call. It’s past due.” | “I’ve just signed a petition about this bridge to dignity as seen in SELMA. It is named after a KKK grand wizard and confederate warlord,” wrote DuVernay on Twitter. “Edmund Pettus Bridge should be the John Lewis Bridge. Named for a hero. Not a murderer. Join this call. It’s past due.” |
| The Georgia Bureau of Investigation have confirmed that the man police shot dead last night in Atlanta on Friday night was African American. Rayshard Brooks was 27. | The Georgia Bureau of Investigation have confirmed that the man police shot dead last night in Atlanta on Friday night was African American. Rayshard Brooks was 27. |
| Stacey Abrams, who ran for Georgia governor in 2018, called for accountability over Brooks’s death in a tweet on Saturday afternoon. | Stacey Abrams, who ran for Georgia governor in 2018, called for accountability over Brooks’s death in a tweet on Saturday afternoon. |
| “The killing of #RayshardBrooks in Atlanta last night demands we severely restrict the use of deadly force,” she wrote. “Yes, investigations must be called for – but so too should accountability. Sleeping in a drive-thru must not end in death.” | “The killing of #RayshardBrooks in Atlanta last night demands we severely restrict the use of deadly force,” she wrote. “Yes, investigations must be called for – but so too should accountability. Sleeping in a drive-thru must not end in death.” |
| Both the GBI and the Fulton county district attorney’s office are investigating Brooks’s death, which happened after police were called to reports that a man had fallen asleep at a fast food restaurant drive-through. | Both the GBI and the Fulton county district attorney’s office are investigating Brooks’s death, which happened after police were called to reports that a man had fallen asleep at a fast food restaurant drive-through. |
| The GBI says there was a struggle when police attempted to take Brooks into custody and he was shot and killed. “It has also been reported that the male subject was shot by an officer in the struggle over [a] Taser,” the GBI said in a statement. | The GBI says there was a struggle when police attempted to take Brooks into custody and he was shot and killed. “It has also been reported that the male subject was shot by an officer in the struggle over [a] Taser,” the GBI said in a statement. |
| From Philadelphia, meanwhile, comes footage of a protest near the site of the 1985 Move bombing, a notorious event in which 11 people including five children died and a neighborhood burned down after police carried out an airstrike against a black liberation group. | From Philadelphia, meanwhile, comes footage of a protest near the site of the 1985 Move bombing, a notorious event in which 11 people including five children died and a neighborhood burned down after police carried out an airstrike against a black liberation group. |
| Frank Rizzo was a notoriously racist mayor and police commissioner of Philadelphia. Earlier this month, his statue outside City Hall was first defaced and then removed. | Frank Rizzo was a notoriously racist mayor and police commissioner of Philadelphia. Earlier this month, his statue outside City Hall was first defaced and then removed. |
| Ed Pilkington, Guardian US chief reporter, has written extensively about the Move bombing, “one of the great, largely forgotten, outrages of modern America”, and the group it targeted. | Ed Pilkington, Guardian US chief reporter, has written extensively about the Move bombing, “one of the great, largely forgotten, outrages of modern America”, and the group it targeted. |
| Here’s Ed’s retelling of the bombing, from May this year, which begins with Frank Powell, a Philadelphia police officer who in 1985 was chief of the city’s bomb disposal squad, remembering vividly the moment he was told to carry out the aerial attack. | Here’s Ed’s retelling of the bombing, from May this year, which begins with Frank Powell, a Philadelphia police officer who in 1985 was chief of the city’s bomb disposal squad, remembering vividly the moment he was told to carry out the aerial attack. |
| “Wow,” he recalls thinking. “You want me to do that?” | “Wow,” he recalls thinking. “You want me to do that?” |
| Joe Biden has been tweeting, first about the “battle for the soul of this nation” which he will fight against Donald Trump at the polls, chaotic as they may be, in November. | Joe Biden has been tweeting, first about the “battle for the soul of this nation” which he will fight against Donald Trump at the polls, chaotic as they may be, in November. |
| “If we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House,” the presumptive Democratic nominee writes, “he will fundamentally alter the character of this nation. We can’t let that happen.” | “If we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House,” the presumptive Democratic nominee writes, “he will fundamentally alter the character of this nation. We can’t let that happen.” |
| Biden also says: “We need a national ban on chokeholds. Now.” | Biden also says: “We need a national ban on chokeholds. Now.” |
| It’s a reference to police arrest techniques at the heart of a number of recent deaths of unarmed African American men, including George Floyd, whose killing in Minneapolis last month touched off lasting protest and civil unrest. | It’s a reference to police arrest techniques at the heart of a number of recent deaths of unarmed African American men, including George Floyd, whose killing in Minneapolis last month touched off lasting protest and civil unrest. |
| By way of comparison, here’s what Trump said about chokeholds yesterday, in an interview with Fox News: | By way of comparison, here’s what Trump said about chokeholds yesterday, in an interview with Fox News: |
| “I think the concept of chokeholds sounds so innocent and so perfect … [but] you have to be careful. With that being said, it would be, I think, a very good thing that, generally speaking, it should be ended.” | “I think the concept of chokeholds sounds so innocent and so perfect … [but] you have to be careful. With that being said, it would be, I think, a very good thing that, generally speaking, it should be ended.” |
| The Fulton county district attorney’s office has opened an investigation into an incident in which Atlanta police shot and killed a man on Friday night. Police responded to reports that a man had fallen asleep in his car at a Wendy’s drive-thru and was blocking traffic. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) says the man was shot and killed after police tried to take him into custody. One report says the man tried to grab a police taser. The GBI is conducting its own investigation. Unverified reports on social media say the man who died was black. | The Fulton county district attorney’s office has opened an investigation into an incident in which Atlanta police shot and killed a man on Friday night. Police responded to reports that a man had fallen asleep in his car at a Wendy’s drive-thru and was blocking traffic. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) says the man was shot and killed after police tried to take him into custody. One report says the man tried to grab a police taser. The GBI is conducting its own investigation. Unverified reports on social media say the man who died was black. |
| From what we know of the case so far, there are some similarities to the death of Willie McCoy in California last year: | From what we know of the case so far, there are some similarities to the death of Willie McCoy in California last year: |