GA - Rayshard Brooks, 27, fatally shot in Wendy’s car park, Atlanta, 12 Jun 2020 *officer charged*

[katydid23]

I still can't believe that a police officer, in the middle of a crowded fast food parking lot, would open fire, potentially injuring or killing other innocent people.

What about a drunk felon, trying to avoid violating his parole, desperately trying to escape the police. Could he be a danger, as in taking a hostage or carjacking someone?

 

[Keefer]

Maybe Brooks wouldn’t have resisted if he felt like he could actually trust the police. Black people have every right to fear for their lives in the custody of police, regardless of the circumstance. His fight or flight instinct probably kicked in, fearing what would happen next. This is a very valid fear for black men right now.

I am guessing that is not the reason he tried to get away. It is only conjecture but I think his wife or girlfriend kicked him out and he thought she might end their relationship if he got arrested. Just a hunch

 

[sds71]

CNN had a GA sheriff on today. He said he thought the shooting was justified.
Burke County sheriff thinks use of force in Atlanta shooting justified

@CNNnewsroom
Burke County, Georgia, Sheriff Alfonzo Williams says the shooting of Rayshard Brooks was “completely justified.” “There's nothing malicious or sadistic in the way these officers behaved,” he says, adding that this case can't be compared to those of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd.
https://twitter.com/CNNnewsroom/status/1272958183540219905?s=20

 

[katydid23]

Maybe Brooks wouldn’t have resisted if he felt like he could actually trust the police. Black people have every right to fear for their lives in the custody of police, regardless of the circumstance. His fight or flight instinct probably kicked in, fearing what would happen next. This is a very valid fear for black men right now.

And maybe the police have the same fear right now. I know several that suffer from PTSD.

If black people have the right to fear for their lives in the custody of police, then police of all colours, have every right to fear trying to detain black males, for fear of injury or death.

Maybe this officer had 'fight or flight' kick in too, and fearing what would happen next, he fired in self defense?

 

[SaguaroSpirit]

I am guessing that is not the reason he tried to get away. It is only conjecture but I think his wife or girlfriend kicked him out and he thought she might end their relationship if he got arrested. Just a hunch

Plus, he was violating parole and would go right back to prison.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Care to apologize to the African-American community that most of you put on blast for starting this fire?

Police search for (white) ‘instigators’ who started Wendy’s fire after Rayshard Brooks shooting

Channel 2 Action News obtained new video of a (white) woman who police say is responsible for starting a fire that torched a Wendy’s restaurant, just hours after a deadly police shooting there.

The Atlanta Police Foundation says a lot of tips have come in to CrimeStoppers Atlanta after they posted a $10,000 reward for her arrest.

A Channel 2 viewer recorded the video on Saturday night. It clearly shows a white woman in shorts with a pony tail spraying something into the flames at the restaurant. She smiles and nods and walks away from the restaurant as flames spread.

Video on Twitter, linked in story

Atlanta police shared a second video of the same woman on their Twitter account and still photos of a second woman dressed in black with an aerosol can.

Police search for (white) ‘instigators’ who started Wendy’s fire after Rayshard Brooks shooting

Dave Wilkinson is the president of the Atlanta Police Foundation and a former secret service agent. He says its clear police are searching for a small number of people who came with different intentions than the peaceful protests.

“We’re talking about individuals that are literally throwing Molotov cocktails, the folks that are setting businesses on fire. It appears that their intention for being there is to destroy property, wreak havoc and create violence,” Wilkinson said. “There’s no question when you see that video of the suspects they certainly look different, they certainly dress differently.”

I'm thoroughly confused. Why in the heck are they saying she STARTED the fire?? The flames were already in progress which can easily be seen.

Are they implying only this one white woman was involved. Who else had already thrown molotov cocktails?

It's well known that many of the anarchists groups like Antifa have white members. We've seen how they purposefully came into Ferguson egging on the blacks there to burn the places down. I've seen them rear their evil heads every time cities are looted, and burned. Of course they pretend to stand with POC when their goal is to start a race war against cops. They use POC as pawns to advance their own lawless ill gotten agendas.

How can we ever forget when Mike Brown's family member (His stepdad iirc,) screamed 'to burn this MF down', and that's exactly what happened.

I don't know who started this fire, but I doubt it was this vile white woman who was probably a part of some ancharists hate group. The fires, and destruction usually are done by a mob of violent people.

Most of the other looting, destroying of properties, and burning them to the ground I've seen in the over 35 cities affected have been carried out by POC.

The violent riots have been a mixed bag of different races with many being white agitators belong to hate groups who always show up to incite.

Just because many of the vile agitators are whites doesnt make them any less dangerous. We've witnessed for years now how groups like antifa work their evil deeds. Everytime I see another cowardly antifa mob dressed in black hiding their face it makes me want to puke. Imo, they should have been labeled domestic terrorists years ago.

I dont care how someone tried to egg me on to do horrible deeds, I wouldnt ever do such a lawless thing. Everyone has a choice to do the law abiding thing or decide they want to be vile lawbreakers. That is the very reason we have seen peaceful protesters, and seen mobs who relishes in breaking the law.

It would be interesting to know how many of the evil doers involved already have violent criminal records.

Jmhoo

 

[katydid23]

again, he was running away. Nothing he did suggests his goal was anything other than escape. Why did the officer not shoot him as he ran away with the taser? We dont know. I would like to know the reasons for firing the officer too.

Then why slow down to shoot the taser at the officer? He didn't need to do that if he was just about running away.

I think it is pretty obvious why they immediately fired the officer. They didn't want the entire city to burn.

 

[katydid23]

Maybe Brooks wouldn’t have resisted if he felt like he could actually trust the police. Black people have every right to fear for their lives in the custody of police, regardless of the circumstance. His fight or flight instinct probably kicked in, fearing what would happen next. This is a very valid fear for black men right now.

Have you ever counselled police officers after their traumatic incidents?

You don't think we have thousands of traumatised officers on the front lines right now?

Do you consider that this case right here might have been very traumatising for the officers? They were totally polite and respectful towards Mr Brooks. And then suddenly, with no warning, he began assaulting them both. I think they held back a little, not wanting to be seen kneeling on his back or neck, not wanting to be filmed being out of line.

Do you have any idea how careful officers are trying to be now in order to avoid pulling a weapon?
And in spite of that, it happened here. And I think it was because the officers training kicked in. Once that suspect turned and fired the stolen taser at him, he knew he was in danger of being debilitated and in danger. Fight or Flight. He chose fight.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

A taser is used to disable and subdue someone. An armed police officer does not want to be disabled and subdued. He will defend against anyone trying to do so.

Imagine being physically attacked, by an angry drunk who doesn't want to go back to prison---you are totally blindsided---punched, kicked, wrestling around, grappling over your 2 weapons---and the perp gets the taser and then while running, turns towards you and shoots it, trying to disable and subdue you, in the middle of this intense fight------

Is your 1st instinct to allow him to keep trying oR are you going to disable him and defend yourself?

I think most officers are trained to end the fight at some point. And once someone has punched and grappled with you, steals one of your weapons and shoots the taser at you, you are going to see that as a serious attack and your life could be in danger.

He made the decision to shoot at that moment when the taser was shooting at him. It was after that decision that the attacker turned away and kept running---but the officer had no idea what was going to happen when he first pulled out the weapon and shot, in self defense.

If people seriously believe that our officers should be told they need to accept that from now on, perps can punch you, grapple with you, steal your taser and shoot you with it, and even then you cannot shoot in defense of your own life---a whole lot of good officers are going to quit, en masse.

I'm terrified that you may be right, Katy. God help all of the law abiding citizens if our police officers quit in great numbers.

Our communities will become like areas of Chicago, and other highly violent cities.

But if every one of them did quit, I wouldn't blame them one bit.

ALL...ALL...ALL..are being painted with the same wide brush. How would we like it if we all were unfairly blamed that way because of our profession or the mere color of our skin?

Jmho

 

[squareandrabbet]

I'm thoroughly confused. Why in the heck are they saying she STARTED the fire?? The flames were already in progress which can easily be seen.

Are they implying only this one white woman was involved. Who else had already thrown molotov cocktails?

It's well known that many of the anarchists groups like Antifa have white members. We've seen how they purposefully came into Ferguson egging on the blacks there to burn the places down. I've seen them rear their evil heads every time cities are looted, and burned. Of course they pretend to stand with POC when their goal is to start a race war against cops. They use POC as pawns to advance their own lawless ill gotten agendas.

How can we ever forget when Mike Brown's family member (His stepdad iirc,) screamed 'to burn this MF down', and that's exactly what happened.

I don't know who started this fire, but I doubt it was this vile white woman who was probably a part of some ancharists hate group. The fires, and destruction usually are done by a mob of violent people.

Most of the other looting, destroying of properties, and burning them to the ground I've seen in the over 35 cities affected have been carried out by POC.

The violent riots have been a mixed bag of different races with many being white agitators belong to hate groups who always show up to incite.

Just because many of the vile agitators are whites doesnt make them any less dangerous. We've witnessed for years now how groups like antifa work their evil deeds. Everytime I see another cowardly antifa mob dressed in black hiding their face it makes me want to puke. Imo, they should have been labeled domestic terrorists years ago.

I dont care how someone tried to egg me on to do horrible deeds, I wouldnt ever do such a lawless thing. Everyone has a choice to do the law abiding thing or decide they want to be vile lawbreakers. That is the very reason we have seen peaceful protesters, and seen mobs who relishes in breaking the law.

It would be interesting to know how many of the evil doers involved already have violent criminal records.

Jmhoo

might be a white man, they are now saying.

they have gotten enough of a closeup to show that whomever it is, is wearing ‘the looting, Antifa, whatever you want to call it’ uniform, of all-black garb hiding everything but the forehead and eyes and, in this person’s case, the hands.

 

[oviedo]

this may have been posted already but it's worth a second look IMO
Carson says Atlanta police shooting not as 'clear cut' as George Floyd death

snipped
Speaking during an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Carson said the incident that led to the death of the 27-year-old Brooks on Friday could have been handled better, but that it was unfair to jump to conclusions about what happened.

“This is a situation that is not clear cut, you know, like the callous murder that occurred in Minnesota,” Carson said in reference to Floyd’s death while in Minneapolis police custody. “Certainly in retrospect, there probably are other ways to do things but, again, we don’t know. We, the public, don’t know.”
snipped
The GBI released security camera video of the shooting Saturday. The footage shows a man running from two white police officers as he raises a hand, which is holding some type of object, toward an officer a few steps behind him. The officer draws his gun and fires as the man keeps running, then falls to the ground in the parking lot.

GBI Director Vic Reynolds said Brooks had grabbed a Taser from one of the officers and appeared to fire it at the officer as he ran, prompting the officer to reach for his gun and fire an estimated three shots.

The security camera video recorded Brooks “running or fleeing from Atlanta police officers,” Reynolds said. “It appears that he has in his hand a Taser.”
----
Something i had not considered - what if in the heat of that moment, the hand raised with the taser looked enough like a gun that the officer thought it was? is that possible? is he then justified in shooting if this is what he thought and felt at that moment in time?
I think so IMO
ETA - spelling

 

[lisaNYC]

Could the defense raise the issue that Rayshard resisted arrest and ran because he had an outstanding warrant in Ohio ?

This is a part of the text of the statute:
(b) Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts shall not be admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, including, but not limited to, proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident. The prosecution in a criminal proceeding shall provide reasonable notice to the defense in advance of trial, unless pretrial notice is excused by the court upon good cause shown, of the general nature of any such evidence it intends to introduce at trial. Notice shall not be required when the evidence of prior crimes, wrongs, or acts is offered to prove the circumstances immediately surrounding the charged crime, motive, or prior difficulties between the accused and the alleged victim.

 

[oceanblueeyes]

might be a white man, they are now saying.

they have gotten enough of a closeup to show that whomever it is, is wearing ‘the looting, Antifa, whatever you want to call it’ uniform, of all-black garb hiding everything but the forehead and eyes and, in this person’s case, the hands.

Thank you. I'm not the least bit surprised.

Imo, antifa members are domestic terrorists, and have been for years.

Jmho

 

[lisaNYC]

again, he was running away. Nothing he did suggests his goal was anything other than escape. Why did the officer not shoot him as he ran away with the taser? We dont know. I would like to know the reasons for firing the officer too.

BBM- he shot the taser at the officer which shows motive to harm said officer.

 

[SugarQueen]

Maybe Brooks wouldn’t have resisted if he felt like he could actually trust the police. Black people have every right to fear for their lives in the custody of police, regardless of the circumstance. His fight or flight instinct probably kicked in, fearing what would happen next. This is a very valid fear for black men right now.

They have a much more valid reason to fear other blacks but they are more than happy to ignore that.
Is it now okay for every black stopped by police to act out or resist because of this fear?

 

[SugarQueen]

again, he was running away. Nothing he did suggests his goal was anything other than escape. Why did the officer not shoot him as he ran away with the taser? We dont know. I would like to know the reasons for firing the officer too.

1) Firing the taser at the officer shows something other than he wanted to escape.
2) The officer didn’t shoot him when he started running because the goal was to catch and arrest him.
3) The reason for firing the officer was probably to keep the whole damn town from burning down. Taking a knee wasn’t enough.
ALL MOO

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Have you ever counselled police officers after their traumatic incidents?

You don't think we have thousands of traumatised officers on the front lines right now?

Do you consider that this case right here might have been very traumatising for the officers? They were totally polite and respectful towards Mr Brooks. And then suddenly, with no warning, he began assaulting them both. I think they held back a little, not wanting to be seen kneeling on his back or neck, not wanting to be filmed being out of line.

Do you have any idea how careful officers are trying to be now in order to avoid pulling a weapon?
And in spite of that, it happened here. And I think it was because the officers training kicked in. Once that suspect turned and fired the stolen taser at him, he knew he was in danger of being debilitated and in danger. Fight or Flight. He chose fight.

It's sad to see how many truly do not care what they go through.

Yesterday on FNN they were talking about the high rate of suicides now by police officers.

They see the worst of humanity and what they have done to their victims of all ages.

We have no idea how traumatizing it has to be for them, but even years later I have seen highly seasoned police officers cry like a baby about the things they have witnessed. The horrific images never leaves them. They stay until they passaway or when they take their own life to end their pain, and suffering.

Imo, those who point their constant accusatory fingers at all LE wouldnt survive one day doing what they have to do, and see nor would they have the courage to step foot into many of these crime ridden areas day after day.

Jmho

 

[razzledazzle]

Never mind...Might be O/T.

 

[Keefer]

Then why slow down to shoot the taser at the officer? He didn't need to do that if he was just about running away.

I think it is pretty obvious why they immediately fired the officer. They didn't want the entire city to burn.

I think he might have been trying to intimidate him to stop him from chasing him or make him slow his chase.

 

[Curiosity1234]

He was on probation for offences which included 'Cruelty to Children', 'Simple Assault', 'Domestic Violence" and a few other things...

I originally was under the impression he lived in GA with his wife and 4 children.