June 14 Black Lives Matter protests

Atlanta protester Joseth Jett explained to CNN's Boris Sanchez on Sunday why someone burned the Wendy's restaurant where Rayshard Brooks was killed in a police shooting.

Brooks was fatally shot during an encounter with police on Saturday.

“At the end of the day, the man ran. The man tried to escape. There was absolutely no reason why a gun needs to be pulled when a man is trying to run,” Jett said.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard on Sunday tells CNN's Fredricka Whitfield that he thought Rayshard Brooks was cooperative in the 22-minute conversation with the officers shown on video. 

"When I saw that footage that you just displayed. That conversation went on about 22 minutes with Mr. Brooks talking to these two officers, and it's very difficult when you see it, when you see the demeanor of Mr. Brooks to imagine that some short time later, it ends up with him being dead," said Howard. 

Asked how he would describe Brooks's demeanor, Howard said, "I thought it was cordial. He was very cooperative. He answered the questions that the officers asked. He did not seem to present any kind of threat to anyone. And so the fact that it would escalate to his death just seems unreasonable."

He added, "It just seems like this is not the kind of conversation and incident the should have led to someone's death." 

Howard said his office has to make a key decision and determine whether or not the officers felt their lives were in danger. 

"Specifically, Officer Rolfe, whether or not he felt that Mr. Brooks, at the time, presented imminent harm of death or some serious physical injury. Or, the alternative is whether or not he fired the shot simply to capture him or some other reason," Howard said. "If that shot was fired for some reason other than to save that officer's life or to prevent injury to him or others, then that shooting is not justified under the law."

Asked by Fredricka Whitfield: "Won't it be presumed that that officer will say that he felt that his life was in danger and that is why he fired the shot? Howard said: "Well, there is one good thing about video Fredricka because, in the video, we actually get a chance to hear the officer's first statement after the shooting took place. And what the officer said, is not that his life was saved. What his statement was, he said, 'I got him.''

Fredricka Whitfield followed up: "So given that, that gives you that evidence, am I hearing you correctly, that he did not believe his life was endangered and that the firing of his weapon was not justified?" Howard replied: "What that does, it gives us a fact to consider. So, if you believe that someone is firing at you with a deadly weapon, then you ask yourself questions. Well, would you attempt to take cover? Would you immediately proceed after that person? And again, as I mentioned, the statement that was made and what we have the task of doing is adding all of those factors together, and then reaching the correct legal conclusion."

In his televised address to the nation on Sunday night, French President Emmanuel Macron made note of racial tensions and protests around the globe following the death of George Floyd.

Macron said of France, "We will be intractable in the face of racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination. We are a nation where everyone, whatever their religion and their origins, must find their place."

Macron said he would not be taking down any statues or monuments. "The republic will not erase any trace or any name from its history." Macron said France, "will not unbolt any statue."

Macron offered support for law enforcement in his address. "Without republican order, there is neither security nor freedom. This order is carried out by the police and gendarmes on our soil. They are exposed to daily risks on our behalf, that is why they deserve the support of the public authorities and the recognition of the nation."

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard tells CNN’s Fredericka Whitfield that a decision on charges being brought against an officer involved in the Wendy’s fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks will be made “sometime around Wednesday." 

“[Brooks] did not seem to present any threat to anyone. The fact that it would escalate to his death seems unreasonable,” Howard said. 

Garrett Rolfe, the officer who killed Brooks, was terminated Saturday, police spokesman Carlos Campos said.

There are three charges under consideration: murder, felony murder, or voluntary manslaughter.

Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, said that Sen. Mike Braun, a Republican from Indiana, told him qualified immunity for police officers was “on the table” for the Senate's police reform bill. 

In an interview on CBS's “Face the Nation," Booker said “I know the heart of Tim Scott, and senators like Senator Braun who said to me qualified immunity is on the table.”

Minutes earlier, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is leading the GOP effort on police reform, said on “Face the Nation” that qualified immunity is a “poison pill,” and that the President signaled it is not on the table.

Scott has been working with a group of five Republican senators to develop legislation. Braun is not a member of this small group. 

Now is the time for “bold change,” not incremental changes, Booker told CNN’s Manu Raju earlier this week when he was asked about Scott’s plan. He would not comment on specifics elements of the plan.

Senator James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, told CNN today he supports banning the use of chokeholds by police.

“I do believe chokeholds should be banned,” Lankford told CNN’s Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Lankford noted that departments have already de-facto banned chokeholds because they do not train officers to use it and tell officers that they should not use things that they have not been trained to do. 

As of Friday, June 12, at least 20 cities and municipalities in the United States are starting to ban or have banned the use of chokeholds in policing, according to information gathered by CNN. 

President Trump last week seemed to indicate that he supported a ban, but his comments still left some questions. “I don't like chokeholds,” he told Fox in an interviews. He said at times there is a one-on-one fight for a person’s life in which a chokehold is used. “That does happen. And that does happen. So you have to be careful ... It would be, I think, a very good thing that generally speaking, it be should be ended.”

Lankford is part of the Senate effort to put together a bipartisan police reform proposal, according to his colleague Sen. Tim Scott who is spearheading the effort.

Sen. Lankford said proposed legislation is set to be released this week.

Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass, Democrat from California, told Fox's Chris Wallace "at the end of the day, you know legislation is always a compromise," before noting that she was "extremely hopeful" the police reform bill introduced by House Democrats would advance through the Senate and be signed into law.

Pressed on if there are certain elements of the bill she is willing to compromise on and others she views as nonnegotiable, Bass said there are, but she was not prepared to provide more details.

"At the end of the day, we are going to get a bill on the President's desk," Bass asserted. She said the House has its first vote on the bill in committee this week. 

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday that Democrats aim to bring the bill to a floor vote the week of June 22.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott tweeted Sunday that the Black Lives Matter painting in front of the State House was vandalized “early this morning, in an effort to fuel hate and division…”

He directed the Vermont State Police and Department of Buildings and General Services to assist the Montpelier Police Department in an investigation.

Read his tweets:

The US Senate’s only African American Republican, Tim Scott of South Carolina, said today that the Friday night killing of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta is “far less clear” than that of George Floyd in Minneapolis in which an officer used a chokehold on him.

“That situation is certainly a -- a far less clear one than the ones that we saw with George Floyd and several other ones around the country,” Scott told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

The South Carolina Republican is leading the GOP effort in the Senate on police reform.

When asked specifically if he believes there is systemic racism in law enforcement, Scott responded “I will say most of us don't really understand the definition of systemic racism.”

He did say that “there’s no question that the outcomes seem to have a racial component,” in situations with law enforcement officials.

At least seven Minneapolis police officers have resigned from the department since unrest began following the death of George Floyd last month, and more than half a dozen are in the process of leaving, City of Minneapolis spokesperson, Casper Hill tells CNN's Aaron Cooper.

“There’s nothing that leads us to believe that at this point the numbers are so great that it’s going to be problematic,” Minneapolis Police Department spokesman John Elder tells the Minneapolis Start Tribune of the parting officers, which include both patrol officers and detectives. “People seek to leave employment for a myriad reasons — the MPD is no exception.”