The Wendy’s restaurant outside where Brooks was fatally shot was set ablaze Saturday night after other protests against the May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The latest murder was likely to fuel calls for more global anti-racism and counter-rallies, including in Europe, where British authorities announced the detention of more than 100 people after violent protests in London on Saturday.
Clashes overshadowed peaceful protests against anti-racism in London. Hundreds of right-wing activists have come to in their words “protect” monuments and statues targeted recently by anti-racism protesters for links to slavery and British colonialism.
There provoked Black Lives Matter protesters with police struggling to block them. Amid the struggles, British police eventually detained more than 100 people after protesters, including far-right activists. Elsewhere, French police clashed with activists protesting in Paris against racism and alleged police brutality.
Police used tear gas against stone-throwing protesters who tried to hold a march that was banned. The scuffles were the latest in a series of protests that spread globally, followed by the killing of the unarmed Floyd by police in the United States.
More tensions were expected as news emerged Sunday following the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks over the weekend.
Besides police facing prosecution, the Atlanta Police Chief resigned. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms had called for the officer who shot Brooks on Friday night to be fired. The mayor said she didn’t think it was “justified use of deadly force.”
But the killings have underscored broader global concerns that the wounds of colonial history and slavery have not yet healed entirely in the U.S. and many other nations.
Politicians and activists have called for an end to ongoing racial discrimination within police forces. However, police have also participated in the debate.
Angry police across France have thrown their handcuffs over the weekend, saying they feel “insulted” by claims that they tolerate brutality and racism. Protesting police also drove in convoy down the Champs-Élysées in central Paris on Friday, sounding their horns.
They rejected any parallels with the Minneapolis police officers whose fatal arrest of George Floyd sparked the wave of anti-racism protests worldwide. Vatican News
