Police chief resigns in US' Atlanta after cop shoots and kills black man, protests erupt

The police chief of US city of Atlanta, Erika Shields, resigned on Saturday (June 13) after a cop shot dead a black man during an arrest. The incident injected fresh anger into the ongoing protests against and police brutality and racism in the US.

Angry protesters came out on the roads in huge numbers and blocked an interstate highway. Some unruly demonstrators also set on fire the Wendy's where Rayshard Brooks, 27, was shot dead on Saturday.

Atlanta This came hours after Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms -- who has been touted as a potential running mate for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden -- announced the resignation of Chief Erika Shields.

Local media reported that Brooks was sleeping in his car at a Wendy's fast food restaurant drive-through on Friday when the police was called by some employees to complain that Brooks was creating trouble for other customers.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said that Brooks failed a sobriety test and did not cooperate with police when they tried to arrest him.

Surveillance video showed "that during a physical struggle with officers, Brooks obtained one of the officer's Tasers and began to flee from the scene," the report continued.   

"Officers pursued Brooks on foot and during the chase, Brooks turned and pointed the Taser at the officer. The officer fired his weapon, striking Brooks," it stated.

According to report, Brooks was admitted to a hospital but he succumbed to gunshot wound.

The incident comes at a time when several cities in the US are witnessing massing protest against May 25 killing of another African American man, George Floyd, in police custody.

Floyd died after a police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for around ten minutes,

Local media reported that Shields had worked for Atlanta's police department for over twenty years.

"Because of her desire that Atlanta be a model of what meaningful reform should look like across this country, Chief Shields has offered to immediately step aside as police chief," Atlanta mayor said in televised comments.