More than 200 friends and family members said goodbye Tuesday to Rayshard Brooks, the African American man shot to death by a white police officer in Atlanta nearly two weeks ago while apparently trying to avoid arrest on a suspicion of drunk driving.
Brooks’ funeral was held in Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King preached in the 1950s and ‘60s.
“We are here because individuals continue to hide behind badges and trainings and policies and procedures rather than regarding the humanity of others in general and Black lives specifically,” King’s daughter, the Reverend Bernice King, told the mourners.
Brooks’ friends and relatives said they remember him as a family man who loved to tell jokes, dance and help others in his community.
A white officer, Garrett Rolfe, has been charged with murder, accused of shooting Brooks in the back and killing him in a Wendy’s restaurant parking lot June 12. A second officer, Devin Brosnan, has been charged with aggravated assault, accused of stepping on the wounded Brooks while he was on the ground.
Police dashboard and body cam videos show Brooks resisting arrest and attempting to escape when the officers tried to handcuff him. Brooks grabbed a taser from one of the officers and ran off, firing it at Rolfe. Rolfe fired two bullets at Brooks’ back.
Activists say the shooting is just another example of white police brutality against a Black man.
But some law enforcement experts say Rolfe may have been justified in shooting Brooks.
Brooks’ death set off protests in Atlanta, and the Wendy’s restaurant where Brooks was shot was burned to the ground.
Atlanta police say one of the two suspects in the arson attack on the Wendy's turned herself in Tuesday. A lawyer for Natalie White said she was a close friend of Brooks’ and is innocent of setting the restaurant on fire.
A Brooks family lawyer said he is unaware of any ties between White and Brooks.
Brooks could be heard talking about a woman named Natalie White on the police video, but it is unclear if it is the same person suspected of arson.
