A crew of CNN journalists have been harassed by a group of protesters in Atlanta, Georgia during a violent demonstration outside the Wendy's where African-American man Rayshard Brooks was shot last week.
CNN national correspondent Natasha Chen was covering the protest alongside two photojournalists, a producer and security guard when their camera was broken by two "aggressive" demonstrators, Chen told CNN.
"There were protesters that were very angry that we were recording this, and tried to block our cameras - to block our photojournalist's camera and to block my cell phone [from] taking video," she said during a broadcast that was later uploaded to YouTube.
"At that point they became aggressive and our CNN camera was broken."
The fatal shooting of Brooks by an Atlanta police officer on Friday (local time) has incited renewed calls for justice by protesters, following the widespread demonstrations and riots in response to the alleged murder of George Floyd on May 25.
Brooks, 27, reportedly fell asleep in his car at a drive-through restaurant and according to local authorities, resisted officers after failing a breathalyzer test. A scuffle ensued, in which Brooks appeared to grab a Taser off an officer before attempting to run away. He was shot three times and later died from his injuries.
Chen said protesters were acting violently, including throwing debris at the Wendy's restaurant and breaking its windows. A couple went inside, she reported, while another attempted to set fire to the umbrellas on the patio area.
"There were other people in the crowd asking, 'Why are they doing this?' and why others were egging them on - a lot of different reactions," she said.
"It got a bit chaotic in the moment."
Over the weekend, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms called for the officer responsible for shooting Brooks to be fired. During a media briefing on Saturday, Bottoms said she does not believe the shooting was "a justified use of deadly force".
The death of the 27-year-old is being probed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). Footage captured by eyewitnesses is reportedly being reviewed, as well as surveillance video obtained from Wendy's.
Brooks' death, which has been ruled a homicide by the Fulton County Medical Examiner's office, is the latest police killing of a black man to fuel nationwide outrage against police brutality and racial injustice.
Atlanta's residents have already been heavily involved in the Black Lives Matter movement following Floyd's alleged murder in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 46-year-old father died after former officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.
Chauvin and the three other officers deemed as complicit in Floyd's death have been fired and charged, with Chauvin facing a maximum of 40 years behind bars for second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
