Georgia governor issues state of emergency, activates National Guard after weekend violence
ATLANTA - Gov. Brian Kemp is issuing a state of emergency ahead of potential anti-police protests in Atlanta this weekend. The order calls for up to 1,000 Georgia National Guard troops to be called up to "subdue riot and unlawful assembly."
Last weekend’s violence came days after law enforcement shot and killed an environmental activist, who the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said shot a state trooper.
Demonstrators took to Underground Atlanta Saturday to demand an investigation into the death of Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, a 26-year-old protester who was killed by Georgia State Troopers during a sweep at Intrenchment Creek Park on Jan 18. That area is the planned site for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, or what some critics are calling "Cop City."
HOW ‘STOP COP CITY’ MOVEMENT LED TO VIOLENT NIGHT IN DOWNTOWN
Investigators said Teran did not comply with commands from a joint task force, and that he fired at a trooper first.
At least three businesses were damaged when rioters threw bricks and rocks shattering windows. At least two police cars were targeted, one was set ablaze. Investigators said some of the individuals arrested were found with explosives.
5 MEMPHIS OFFICERS CHARGED WITH MURDER OF TYRE NICHOLS
The continued anti-police movement in Atlanta could also be further enflamed by the charging of five former Memphis police officers with second-degree murder and other crimes in the arrest and death of Tyre Nichols, a Black motorist who died three days after a traffic stop confrontation. Body camera video of the incident is expected to be released on Friday evening.
5 officers face murder charges in Memphis beating; Video to be release Friday
Five fired Memphis police officers are in jail charged with murder in the death of Tyre Nichols. This story is having major impacts across the country. It started January 7th when officers stopped Nichols for reckless driving leading to a confrontation. Nichols’ family and their lawyers say video of the stop shows the officers savagely beating the father and FedEx worker for three minutes. Georgia’s governor has declared a state of emergency allowing him to activate the Georgia National Guard if protests in Georgia become violent.
The Atlanta Police Department said it shares in the outrage over the circumstances of the death of Nichols.
"Police officers are expected to conduct themselves in a compassionate, competent, and constitutional manner and these officers failed Tyre, their communities, and their profession," the department wrote in a statement. "We ask that demonstrations be safe and peaceful."
The department said it is ready to support peaceful demonstrations over the weekend by ensuring they stay safe and non-violent. Source told FOX 5 that APD is implementing 12-hour shifts starting Friday in case of any protests following the release of the video in Tyre Nichols' murder.
Tyre Nichols death: 5 former officers charged with murder
All five former Memphis police officers who were fired after the death of Tyre Nichols have been charged with murder. The city of Memphis is on edge ahead of the release of police body camera video. The city of Atlanta is also on alert for any possible protests.
Gerald Griggs, the president of the Georgia Chapter of the NAACP, echoed the calls for peaceful protests, but said the community needs to do more.
"Use this frustration and anger and channel it in the appropriate direction, and that’s peaceful, non-violent protests, that’s voting, that’s making sure we hold our elected officials accountable after we elect them, and that’s making sure we serve on juries, so we can send the message that’s the conscious of the community that we won’t tolerate this type of behavior," Griggs said.
Griggs said elected officials needs to continue to lead the charge in police reform.
"And to remember all the promises that were made from 2020 until now, that’s just seems like our elected officials around the country need to take a moment and really realize that we need to have police accountability, we need to have it now," Griggs said.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT TYRE NICHOLS’ DEATH AND THE MEMPHIS OFFICERS CHARGED WITH MURDER
The governor’s orders states that "Georgians respect peaceful protests, but do not tolerate acts of violence against person or property."
As of Thursday evening, no guardsmen have been called up, but were just put on alert.
The state of emergency expires at the end of the day on Feb. 9.