Black man shot dead by Atlanta cops in Wendy’s drive-thru

A black man was shot in the back and killed by an Atlanta cop Friday night during a confrontation that began when he fell asleep in his car at a Wendy’s drive-thru, according to shocking new video and Georgia officials.

Atlanta police say that the victim, Rayshard Brooks, 27, of Atlanta, had resisted — and stolen one cop’s Taser — during their struggle to arrest him after he failed a field sobriety test.

But the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is probing the shooting at the Atlanta Police Department’s request, the agency said in a press release on Saturday.

Witness video of the shooting is under review, the GBI said on Twitter.

One video that has surfaced on social media shows the heated struggle between Brooks and two white, uniformed police officers moments before they chase him off-screen and three shots ring out.

Brooks is seated when he grabs an officer’s Taser and pulls on the gun with his left hand. The cop tries to recover it.

But he falls to his back and Brooks makes it to his feet, holding the Taser. He punches a second officer in the head with a roundhouse right.

The second officer pulls his own Taser and fires it at Brooks. The crackle of it going off can be heard on the video.

Brooks runs, with the second officer in close pursuit, still pointing his Taser. Its wires appear stuck to Brooks.

After the two run off-screen, the first officer is seen sprinting after them, his handgun in his right hand.

Just as after he leaves the frame, three shots ring out in quick succession.

The shooting comes amid international protests of police brutality and racism spurred by a recent spate of deaths of unarmed black suspects, most recently George Floyd in Minneapolis.

“Another man was taken right at this spot,” an Atlanta man who lead a Saturday morning demonstration at the Wendy’s told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

He called the Wendy’s parking lot “the new ground zero.”

State investigators have so far released this narrative:

Atlanta Police responded to a call from the Wendy’s at 10:33 p.m. Friday after a complaint of a male who was asleep in a vehicle in the fast-food restaurant’s drive-thru.

The vehicle was blocking those of other customers, who had to drive around him, the GBI said.

Arriving cops gave the man in the car, now identified as Brooks, a field sobriety test.

“After failing the test, the officers attempted to place the male subject into custody,” the GBI said in its press release.

“During the arrest, the male subject resisted and a struggle ensued.

“The officer deployed a Taser. Witnesses report that during the struggle the male subject grabbed and was in possession of the Taser.”

The cop, whose name was not released, shot Brooks during a  struggle over the Taser, the GBI said.

One officer suffered minor injuries; both have been placed on administrative leave.

“The GBI will continue its independent investigation,” the agency’s press release said.

“Once completed, the case will be turned over to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office for review.”

The agency tweeted that some witnesses at the scene chose not to be identified by GBI agents. “We are encouraging any witnesses to contact 1-800-597-TIPS,” the GBI tweeted.

“Have we learned absolutely nothing? NOTHING?” one Twitter user, @J264B, responded. “In what world should deadly force ever be used in this situation?”