The Rundown: Atlanta On Edge Over Killing

6/14/20

6/15/20

➤VIDEO RELEASED, OFFICER FIRED IN KILLING OF BLACK MAN IN ATLANTA: Bodycam and dash-mounted video were released Sunday showing a sobriety check that turned into a deadly police shooting of a 27-year-old black man in Atlanta late Friday. That came hours after police said that Officer Garrett Rolfe, who fired the shots that killed Rayshard Brooks, had been fired, and the officer with him, Devin Brosnan, was placed on administrative duty. The incident also led to the resignation of Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she doesn't believe the shooting was justified, while Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said Sunday he hopes to reach a decision by midweek on whether to bring charges against the officers.

The officers had been called because of complaints about a car blocking a Wendy's drive-thru lane. They found Brooks asleep in the car, and he agreed to move the vehicle and take a sobriety check, telling the officers, "I know you're just doing your job," and said he, quote, "just had a few drinks" while celebrating his daughter's birthday. The video showed the officers peacefully questioning Brooks for more than 40 minutes, but after the sobriety test showed a blood alcohol reading of 0.108, above the 0.08 threshold for impaired driving, a struggle began when they tried to handcuff him. Brooks tried to run and the officers took him to the ground, with one shouting, "Stop fighting!" Brosnan put a Taser to Brooks' leg and threatened to stun him, but Brooks grabbed the Taser away, managed to get to his feet, and started running. Rolfe fired his Taser, a yelp was heard, and he ran after Brooks, and then three gunshots were heard. The actual shooting wasn't captured on the police videos, but Wendy's security camera footage showed Brooks turn and point an object -- which the officers said was the Taser -- at one of the officers, who pulled out his gun and fired.


A protest outside the Wendy's Saturday led to it being set on fire and gutted. A $10,000 reward has been offered for information on those responsible.

MINNEAPOLIS POLICE OFFICERS QUIT, CITE LACK OF SUPPORT AMID GEORGE FLOYD PROTESTS: At least seven Minneapolis police officers have resigned and another seven are in the process of doing so over what they say has been a lack of support from leaders of the police department and the city as protests over George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer escalated. The Minneapolis Star Tribune cited current and former officers as saying police officers are upset with Mayor Jacob Frey's decision to abandon the Third Precinct station during the protests, which was set on fire by protesters after police left it. A majority of City Council members support dismantling or defunding the police department, which has long faced allegations of brutality and discrimination against African-Americans and other minorities.

Newsday 6/15/20

➤SEVERAL STATES REPORTING RECORD NUMBERS OF CORONAVIRUS CASES, HOSPITALIZATIONS: More states are seeing a record number of new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, with Alabama reporting a record number of new cases for a fourth straight day on Sunday (June 14th), and Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Carolina all having record numbers of new cases in the past three days, according to a Reuters. Part of the growing numbers is due to a significant increase in testing over the past few weeks, but many of the states are also seeing a record number of hospitalizations, with Arkansas, North Carolina, Texas and Utah all having a record number of hospitalizations Saturday.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo threatened Sunday (June 14th) to shut down Manhattan and the Hamptons on Long Island again if residents don’t follow social distancing rules. Cuomo said the state had gotten 25,000 complaints about violations since the start of the pandemic, mostly involving bars and restaurants, and the most violations were coming from Manhattan and the Hamptons. He said, "We’re not going to go back to that dark place because local governments didn’t do their job," and in addition to pushing local governments to enforce the rules, he also said that bars and restaurants who violate them could lose their liquor license.

There have been more than 115,700 deaths in the U.S. as of last night, according to Johns Hopkins University's count, and more than 2,093,500 confirmed cases.

Daniel Berger

➤BERGER WINS AT COLONIAL, FIRST PGA TOURNAMENT BACK FROM SHUTDOWN: Daniel Berger won the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Golf Course in a playoff Sunday (June 14th) in the PGA Tour's first tournament back from its coronavirus shutdown. There were no fans at the Fort Worth, Texas, golf course, to watch as Berger sealed his win with a par on the first extra hole over fellow American Collin Morikawa.

➤HAMLIN WINS AT HOMESTEAD, WITH SMALL NUMBER OF FANS IN STANDS: Denny Hamlin won NASCAR'S Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway last night, a race that was delayed twice, once for two hours due to rain and lightening just five laps in, and then later for 40 minutes because of lightning. It's Hamlin's third win of the season, after the Daytona 500 and the Toyota 500. This was the first NASCAR race to have fans since returning from the coronavirus shutdown, but it was only a few hundred military personnel who were invited from nearby Homestead Air Force base.

➤MLB PLAYERS REJECT LATEST OFFER, ASK LEAGUE TO SET 2020 SCHEDULE: Major League Baseball's players' union has rejected the league's latest proposal for a coronavirus-shortened 2020 season, and instead of continuing the back-and-forth with another proposal, the Players Association asked MLB to set a schedule, setting up a possible season of only some 50 games. MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said in a statement Saturday night, "Further dialogue with the league would be futile. It's time to get back to work. Tell us when and where." Under a March agreement, if the two sides can't agree on a return-to-play plan, MLB can set the schedule, and the league has suggested that in that circumstance there'd be a schedule of about 50 games, with players paid prorated salaries. Money has been the main stumbling block, with players insisting on full prorated salaries and the league saying it will lose billions of dollars this year and wanting salaries to be cut further.

➤POPOVICH CRITICIZES GOODELL, NFL OWNERS WHO DONATED TO TRUMP: Head coach Gregg Popovich of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs criticized NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for having, quote, "folded" to President Trump in the past on player protests during the national anthem. He told the New York Times' Maureen Dowd in column Saturday: "A smart man is running the NFL and he didn't understand the difference between the flag and what makes the country great -- all the people who fought to allow [Colin] Kaepernick to have the right to kneel for justice. The flag is irrelevant. It's just a symbol that people glom onto for political reasons ... " Popovich also blasted seven NFL owners who are trying to take a stand against racial inequality who each donated $1 million to Trump's Inaugural Committee in 2016. He said, "It's just hypocritical It's incongruent. It doesn't make sense. People aren't blind. . . . I think they put themselves in a position that's untenable."