WASHINGTON: Governor of Georgia Brian P Kemp declared a state of emergency for Fulton County that includes the state’s largest city of Atlanta in the light of mass riots and activated 500 troops of the national guard to protect citizens and property.
“At the request of Mayor @KeishaBottoms & in consultation with public safety & emergency preparedness officials, I have issued the State of Emergency for Fulton County to activate as many as 500 GeorgiaGuard troops to protect people & property in Atlanta,” Sputnik news agency quoted P Kemp on Twitter.
The national guard servicemen will deploy immediately to assist local law enforcement agencies in eliminating unlawful activity and restoring peace, the governor added.
The public unrest erupted Tuesday in several US cities after the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who lost his life on Monday after being arrested by law enforcement officers in the city of Minneapolis.
A video that spread online shows a white police officer, alleged to be Derek Chauvin, pinning Floyd to the ground with his knee on his neck for several minutes. Floyd repeatedly tells the police officer that he cannot breathe until becoming unresponsive. Floyd died at a local hospital shortly thereafter. – Bernama
