Medical Examiner: Police Fatally Shot Rayshard Brooks Twice in the Back

A sign near the spot where Rayshard Brooks died in a police shooting in Atlanta. (ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images)

By    |   Sunday, 14 June 2020 08:55 PM EDT ET

A black man who was shot and killed by Atlanta police Friday night died of organ damage and blood loss after he was shot twice in the back.

CNN cited an announcement from the Fulton County, Georgia, Medical Examiner's Office as saying Rayshard Brooks' manner of death is homicide, which means one person killing another person.

The autopsy on Brooks' body was performed Sunday.

The killing further intensified race relations in the U.S., and protesters in Atlanta burned down the Wendy's restaurant where Brooks died the day after the shooting.

The Atlanta Police Department released body camera footage of the incident, which began when police were called about a man sleeping in his car and blocking the Wendy's drive-through lane. Brooks, 27, was eventually given a breathalyzer test, which showed he had a blood alcohol level of 0.108.

When police tried to put Brooks in handcuffs, he fought back. During the ensuing struggle, Brooks took control of one of the officer's tasers and started to run away. It's unclear whether he fired the taser at the officers, although it appeared in another video that he raised the nonlethal weapon toward them.

Officer Garrett Rolfe then fired his gun, hitting Brooks twice and killing him.

Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields resigned after the incident, while Rolfe was fired.

After the shooting, protesters already grieving the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis descended on the Wendy's where Brooks died. During more protests Saturday night, the restaurant was torched.

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A black man who was shot and killed by police Saturday night died of organ damage and blood loss after he was shot twice in the back.
atlanta, rayshard brooks
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2020-55-14
Sunday, 14 June 2020 08:55 PM
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