ATLANTA - Police in Atlanta said they made 36 arrests on Saturday before midnight as a deadly-officer involved shooting late Friday night leads to 24 hours of chaos and unrest in the heart of the city.
Protesters were out of the streets as early as 7 a.m. Saturday, about eight hours after 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed in the parking lot of a Wendy's located along University Avenue.
The killing of Brooks sparked a new wave of protests in Atlanta, where demonstrations following the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis had largely simmered down.
Between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. saw the most unrest with protesters taking to the busy Downtown Connector, where Interstates 75 and 85 merge together through the heart of the city.
Protesters block the Downtown Connector near University Avenue on June 13, 2020 (GDOT)
Troopers with the Georgia State Patrol had been waiting nearby to try to prevent the protesters from gaining entry. But while they were mostly guarding the northbound side, protesters made their way to southbound lanes to completely stop traffic.
The Georgia Department of Transportation showed a back up at least 13 miles long in both directions for about 45 minutes.
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Some motorists were angry with the protesters, making rude gestures and punching the air in anger. Others honked their horns in solidarity with the demonstrators.
Police cars lined a portion of I-85 near University Avenue in anticipation of protests Saturday. (Georgia Department of Transportation )
Meanwhile, at the focal point of day-long protests, some decided to enter the Wendy's where this all started and set fire to it shortly after 9:30 p.m. That fire was not immediately put out but was under control by around 11:30 p.m.
Fires were seen in and around the Wendy's restaurant. Fireworks were set off in the area at one point as well.
SKYFOX 5 flew over the scene shortly before 10 p.m. and saw the fast-food restaurant was fully involved.
A second smaller wave of violence broke out shortly before 1:30 a.m. as members of the crowd tried to smash the windows of a convenience store.
Police started to clear out the remaining protesters shortly after 3 a.m.
Atlanta police units initially responded to a 911 call reporting a suspicious person at Wendy's around 10:30 p.m. Friday. Officers found a man asleep in his car, parked in the drive-thru lane and blocking customers, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
They reportedly conducted a sobriety test, but when they attempted to arrest the man, identified as 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks, a struggle ensued.
Deputy Chief Timothy Peek, with the Atlanta Police Department, described officers' numerous attempts to deploy Tasers.
"Ultimately, when the officer used the Taser, it was ineffective for the suspect," Peek said. "It did not stop the aggression of the fight."
Peek added preliminary information shows Brooks was able to take an officer's Taser from him and use it against the officers.
In a statement, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation says that they have been called in to investigate the shooting. The Fulton County District Attorney's Office has also launched its own investigation.
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The GBI reported that at some point during the struggle over the Taser, Brooks was shot by an officer.
The late-night shooting fanned the flames around existing tensions with APD. Protests against police brutality just surpassed two weeks in Atlanta.
A crowd lined the Wendy's parking lot overnight -- full of people enraged by videos seen on social media that appear to show the scuffle leading up to gunfire between two white police officers and a black man.
Man killed after a struggle with an officer at Atlanta fast-food restaurant
Officers say they found the man sleeping in his car in a Wendy's drive-thru. When they tried to place him under arrest, they say a struggle led an officer shooting the man.
Members of the crowd told FOX 5's Emilie Ikeda that the deputy chief did try explaining what investigators uncovered so far, but many expressed skepticism towards the department's narrative.
"I guess he was trying to clear it up, it was just all the stories were conflicting, none of it made sense, it was like they were trying to cover up something," one protestor described.
In the meantime, District 3 Councilman Antonio Brown empathized with the angered crowd but urged social media users to wait for the facts.
"What's important is information is being properly disseminated about what has occurred," Brown said. "There's misinformation that's given that sparks an outrage."
The GBI said one officer was injured but has since been released from the hospital. Peek told FOX 5 the officers were visibly shaken following the incident.
Less than 24 hours after the shooting, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced that she had accepted the resignation of Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard is asking anyone who witnessed the incident to call the tip line at (404) 612-4903 or email information, photos, and more to Donald.Hannah@fultoncountyga.gov.
Lawyers representing the Brooks family, spoke Saturday night.
Attorney L. Chris Stewart said in part, "I don't say we ever want justice. I don't even know what that is. And I've been doing this for 15 years. Is it getting them arrested? Is it getting someone fired? I know that this isn't justice, what is happing society right now."
Lawyers for the family of Rayshard Brooks speak
The attorneys for the family of Rayshard Brooks spoke following his death during an officer-involved shooting in Atlanta.
L. Chris Stewart, an attorney for Brooks' family, said the officer who shot him should be charged for "an unjustified use of deadly force, which equals murder."
"You can't have it both ways in law enforcement," Stewart said. "You can't say a Taser is a nonlethal weapon ... but when an African American grabs it and runs with it, now it's some kind of deadly, lethal weapon that calls for you to unload on somebody."
He said Brooks was a father of four and had celebrated a daughter's eighth birthday Friday before he was killed.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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