Video Shows Atlanta Rioters Attacking CNN Crew Outside Of Wendy’s Where Rayshard Brooks Was Shot

The CNN crew had their equipment destroyed by the angry mob, but were able to escape uninjured.

CNN

CNN reporter and her camera crew were attacked late Saturday as they covered escalating protests in Atlanta after police shot and killed 27 year-old Rayshard Brooks in a Wendy’s parking lot Friday night.

CNN correspondent Natasha Chen and her camera crew were at the Wendy’s Saturday night videotaping the protestors as they broke windows and set fire to the fast food restaurant.

According to The Blaze, the protestors realized Chen and crew were recording their destruction and apparently didn’t want their criminal actions to be caught on video.

The video below shows protestors attacking the camera crew. Chen later indicated that the rioters eventually broke CNN‘s cameras.

Chen recounted the incident while speaking with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on air, stating, “Our photojournalist, our producer, and I were trying to get video of what was happening, and there were protestors who got very angry that we were recording this and tried to block our cameras.”

She went on to explain, “At that point, they got aggressive and our CNN camera was broken.” Blitzer describes the actions of the protestors as “very disturbing.” Chen reported that she and her crew were able to evacuate the area without injury.

Tensions around Atlanta boiled over Saturday after video of Brooks’ death circulated on social media. The Blaze reports that the officer who shot Brooks has already been fired, and Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields has also resigned since the incident Friday night.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Brooks was shot by an officer while fleeing during a struggle at a Wendy’s drive-thru late Friday. Brooks had been asleep in his car at the drive-thru, causing other customers to drive around the car, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said, as reported by USA Today. 

Police were dispatched to the Wendy’s around 10:30 p.m., and conducted a sobriety test on Brooks, who failed the test, according to the officials.

“During the arrest, the male subject resisted and a struggle ensued,” the Bureau of Investigation said. “The officer deployed a Taser. Witnesses report that during the struggle the male subject grabbed and was in possession of the Taser. It has also been reported that the male subject was shot by an officer in the struggle over the Taser.”

One officer was treated for an injury and discharged from the hospital after the incident. USA Today reports that Brooks died in the hospital after surgery.

The situation involving officers in Atlanta fueled already-high tensions around the nation in the wake of George Floyd’s death three weeks ago.

This piece was written by PoliZette Staff on June 15, 2020. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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