On Saturday night, protesters shut down a major Atlanta highway when they burned down a Wendy’s restaurant where a black man was shot dead by police.
Reports claim the victim had tried to escape an arrest and physically assaulted the Police when he was killed. Video did capture the incident, but the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the situation as the event is likely to fuel more regional tensions over race and police tactics.
In the video, a man captured the originator of the fire, and it seemed to be a white female. The man in the video claims, “Look at the white girl, look at the white girl set S*** on fire. Look at the white girl trying to burn down the Wendys. This wasn’t us.”
WARNING: ADULT LANGUAGE
[Reuters] The restaurant was in flames for more than 45 minutes before fire crews arrived to extinguish the blaze, protected by a line of police officers, local television showed. By that time the building was reduced to charred rubble next to a gas station.
Other demonstrators marched onto Interstate-75, stopping traffic, before police used a line of squad cars to hold them back.
The city’s police chief, Erika Shields, resigned earlier on Saturday over the shooting on Friday night of 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks, which was captured on video.
The police department has fired the officer who allegedly shot and killed Brooks, police spokesman Carlos Campos said late on Saturday. Another officer involved in the incident was put on administrative leave. Both of the officers were white.
There is no similarity between this guy and the George Floyd case. Let’s break down the facts of the case here.
So, let me get this straight. A man is being arrested for DUI and decides to resist arrest, grab an officer’s taser, and run from the Police. He stops, points the taser at the Police, and is then shot.
In response, some of the citizens of Atlanta take it upon themselves to destroy a private business after they turned a criminal into a victim. Where is the sense in that?
Mr. Brooks was breaking the law by being behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, so intoxicated that he was passed out. Had he simply complied with the officers, he’d have spent the night in jail and released either after he sobered up or the next morning, and he’d still be alive.
People need to stop victimizing those individuals who are breaking laws and being injured or shot for other crimes they commit just to avoid arrest.
If riots happen over this specific incident, then their message is lost to the rest of the country. Eyewitnesses, so far, have corroborated the story, and it’s on video from multiple sources and yet rioters still burned down this man’s dining choice for the evening.
This piece was written by Wayne Dupree on June 14, 2020. It originally appeared in WayneDupree.com and is used by permission.
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