ATLANTA _ A steady crowd came to pay respects Monday at the public viewing for Rayshard Brooks at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Brooks died after being shot by a police officer June 12 in the parking lot of a downtown Wendy's restaurant. He was 27.
Brooks' death sparked protests in Atlanta and around the country. Last week, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced criminal charges for the two officers accused in the shooting.
Though Monday's viewing was open to the public, the funeral planned for Tuesday is private and will be by invitation only. The 1 p.m. Eastern time service will be streamed live on the church's website, www.ebenezeratl.org. A private interment is planned for Brooks.
Across the street from Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, retired law enforcement Officer Bruce W. Griggs struggled to hold up an 8-foot card for people to sign condolences to Brooks' family. Inside, the card reads, "Thinking of your family and wishing you all comfort and peace." Griggs said people signed the card at the Wendy's on University Avenue in south Atlanta the day after Brooks was shot to death, again this past weekend and Monday across from the church.
"I care about the family of Rayshard Brooks," Griggs said. "I care about for family of future Rayshard Brookses out here."
Griggs said his organization, Operation Correct Start of America Inc., has put together oversized condolence cards for prominent residents and gun violence victims, going back to Maynard Jackson after the former Atlanta mayor died in 2003.
Griggs said he was optimistic after seeing the energy from a new generation of activists in recent weeks as people took to the streets to fight injustice and police brutality.
"I'm glad to see them out there," he said. "I'm 60 years old. I can't get out there anymore."
He said the result so far has been promising, despite property damage that has resulted.
"You can't get change unless you stir up the pot," Griggs said.
Early Monday afternoon, the streets around the church were buzzing ahead of the public viewing for Brooks. Vendors sold shirts with "Black Lives Matter" and images of black people killed in recent years during police encounters. A man on a megaphone recited Brooks' name and date of death.
A few dozen people sat or walked through the church campus awaiting the arrival of Brooks' family and his body.
"I'm here to bear witness as a minister and a person of faith," said Jessica Derise, a white chaplain and pastor on an extended stay in the Atlanta area due to the coronavirus pandemic. "We have another black man that was murdered mindlessly. Showing up (to protests and similar events) matters to people _ especially as a person who has less at stake than people of color."
Elizabeth Taylor of Flint, Mich., said she came to the viewing for one reason.
"Black lives matter," said Taylor, who already was in town visiting. "It's such a cliche, but it's not."
Taylor said she's get incensed by killings of black men and women by police, caught on video more frequently as people begin to record now every time they see someone pulled over, fearing another tragedy in the making.
"They won't even stop killing people when you're filming," she said of police, referring to the Brooks killing.
