I’m at the Zone 3 headquarters of the Atlanta Police Department. Officers are in full riot gear, one of them saying in a sing-songy voice as she geared up, “It’s gonna be a riot.” A majority of these cops are black. 
Scanner chatter keeps the officers apprised of protester movement. A crowd of hundreds is heading here, where an officer told me the precinct had received a threat that it would burn to the ground tonight.
I’m watching two white protesters chastise a line of black cops about “white supremacy.”
Chopper getting closer, which means the protesters are too.
Zone 3 is in the middle of a neighborhood, not any sort of commercial district. Down the street, headlights are coming over a rise in the road. Some are honking.
Protesters arriving now.
Hard to tell the crowd size. Maybe 100. Feels like a 1:1 ratio of cops to protesters.
Conflict seemingly imminent.
Protesters face to face with cops. “Take a knee!” one says. “We’re tired of taking a knee! Stop killing us!” another says.
Front line of protesters is small, maybe 50 people. Long caravan of cars behind them and I’m sure 100 more folks hanging back on the street.
Cops are in two MRAPs behind the police line.
A brief clash, a shoving match, between front line protesters and cops. Now cooked back down. Cops on loud speaker are saying this protest is now in violation of Georgia law.
Cops threatening arrest if people don’t get on the sidewalk. The protesters are now retreating em masse ad a few remain behind a p taunt officers.
What in holy fucking hell is this thing?
A small group of protesters is now in a standoff with police on Ormond Street as squads can be seen further back in the neighborhood.
Here’s that brief clash.
I’m following a group of #RayshardBrooks protesters down Georgia Avenue in Atlanta. They avoided a serious confrontation with police at the Zone 3 precinct. Currently, destination unknown.
Protesters were heading downtown before police turned them away. This was near an entrance to the highway, which police had blocked.
Less than 100 protesters now, back at the Wendy’s where #RayshardBrooks was killed. Cops are positioned not far from here in all directions.
Everyone is gathered around a Russian TV anchor and his cameraman. What outlet is this? They were in Minneapolis too.
“Fuck 12!”
People gathered at a nearby gas station where two armed men are inside. Someone just tossed a brick into a window. A man is pleading with people to leave the gas station alone.
A woman just told me, “If they do something crazy don’t record.” Prior to the incident, someone said, “Destroy the cameras first.”
Protesters splitting up. No one has else fucked with the gas station. I’m calling it a night. Much work to do tomorrow.
