ATLANTA — It was her eighth birthday. A day in which she spent time with friends and ate cupcakes.
It was also the day Blessen Miller found out her father Rayshard Brooks, 27, was killed by an Atlanta police officer.
Blessen had her birthday party and she wore her birthday dress the day she learned of the shooting, an attorney for the family told the media on Monday.
"She was supposed to go skating with her dad, and that didn't happen, of course," the attorney said.
The family, including his wife, daughter and cousins spoke in an emotional news conference.
It was Friday night at around 10:30 p.m. when Atlanta police were called to a Wendy's fast-food restaurant off University Avenue to reports of a man sleeping in his car in the drive-thru line.
The initial interaction between the responding officers and the subject, now identified as Rayshard Brooks, was a cordial one. A scuffle ensued and Brooks was killed after police said he pointed a police taser at one of the officers as he was running away from them.
Protests and demands for justice continued through the weekend. The Wendy's restaurant where the shooting took place was burned to the ground on Saturday in what has become ground zero for the protests and tributes to Brooks.
As a result of the shooting, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms called for the termination of the officer involved in the shooting, who police later confirmed had been fired. Police Chief Erika Shields also resigned on Saturday.
During the press conference, the family urged protesters to keep things peaceful.
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