Atlanta Fire Apparatus Vandalized as Crews Battle Blazes

Spasms of violence shook Atlanta overnight Friday as a peaceful march against police violence transformed into chaos that left parts of the city in flames and shops and restaurants ransacked by looters. Gov. Brian Kemp announced early Saturday that he’d deployed the National Guard to restore calm.

Rioters burned police cars and smashed their way into stores in downtown Atlanta and Buckhead despite pleas by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and civil rights activists who urged demonstrators to stay home and seek meaningful ways to honor the death of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis officer knealed on his neck while he was handcuffed.

Stunned city officials, long used to peaceful protests in the cradle of the civil rights movement, were left to reassess their strategy after masses of demonstrators defaced the CNN Center, burned down a visitors center in Centennial Olympic Park and stormed through Phipps Plaza, an upscale mall in Buckhead.

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“This is not a protest,” Bottoms said during an emotional news conference late Friday. “This is not in the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. This is chaos. A protest has purpose. When Dr. King was assassinated, we didn’t do this to our city. You are disgracing our city. You are disgracing the life of George Floyd and every other person who has been killed in this country.”

City officials said police officers trying to maintain the peace were targeted with knives, eggs, firecrackers and other projectiles. Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields, who condemned the actions of Minneapolis officers involved in the call that left Floyd death, had said she would allow protesters to mass so long as they didn’t violate laws.

The demonstration started off as a peaceful march from Centennial Olympic Park to the state Capitol, and participants waved signs expressing outrage over Floyd's death and chanted demands of justice and equality.

But it took a dangerous turn as the night wore on and splinter groups gathered outside the park to engage in testy clashes with law enforcement officers, who at times fired tear gas into crowds that turned barricades into weapons.

The last time a major protest rocked Atlanta, when Black Lives Matters protesters massed outside the Governor’s Mansion in 2016, it was defused by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed when he promised a sit-down with demonstrators.

But the outrage over Floyd's death presents a different challenge, as demonstrations spread widely across the nation to protest police brutality.

Bottoms turned to aging civil rights activists and young hip-hop stars to plead for calm and end to the looting, staging a press conference just blocks away from where the largest group of demonstrators had gathered.

“It is your duty not to burn your own house down for anger with an enemy,” said a tearful Killer Mike, also known as Michael Render. “It is your duty to fortify your own house so that you may be a house of refuge in times of organization.”

The violence that shuddered through this city threatened restaurants, retail stores and businesses already reeling from a coronavirus pandemic. Amir McRae, who owns the ATL Cruzers downtown Segway tour business, was awoken early Saturday by an ADT alarm call.

He’d hoped his “black owned” signs would spare his building, but his windows were smashed in nonetheless.

“I’m just feeling hurt,” he said. “Here we are with utter destruction of property.”

As he spoke, he shooed away looters picking over a Circle K that was overrun.

“We worked way too hard for this,” he said, as they slinked away. “Do what’s right. Keep it moving!”

Just as police officers seemed to contain the violence in downtown Atlanta, large crowds moved north to the affluent Buckhead area. Big-box stores were ransacked and video showed trespassers trying to empty luxury retailers at Phipps Plaza. Atlanta Fire Rescue responded to reports of blazes at the historic Tabernacle downtown and Del Frisco's Grille in Buckhead.

Firefighters were unable to respond immediately to Del Frisco’s because of the large protester presence. Once they were able to extinguish the flames, crews returned to trucks that had been set upon by vandals.

The beleaguered local authorities and Georgia State Patrol officers were reinforced shortly after midnight by Kemp’s order, which activated as many as 500 Georgia National Guard troops.

A contingent of 100 soldiers was immediately deployed to the Lenox Square Mall area, and authorized to make arrests.

Early Saturday morning, Atlanta police reported gunshots outside Phipps Plaza and downtown Atlanta, and widespread looting at stores across the city. Rioters smashed windows of firetrucks and ruined police cars; a WSB-TV news truck was also targeted.

As police strained to control the damage, civic leaders stepped up their pleas for calm. T.I. urged protesters to stay home – “this city doesn’t deserve this” – and bright-red digital billboards lit up with a message: “If you love Atlanta, PLEASE GO HOME!”

“We have to be better than this moment. We have to be better than burning down our own homes,” said Killer Mike. “Because if we lose Atlanta what else do we have?”

Staff Writers Alexis Stevens, Raisa Habersham, Christian Boone and Ernie Suggs contributed to this report.

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