Rayshard Brooks was a loving family man who thought the George Floyd protests would move the needle on police brutality. Then he was shot dead by an Atlanta officer.

• Rayshard Brooks was shot dead Friday during an altercation with an Atlanta police officer who responded to complaints of a person asleep in a Wendy's drive-thru.
• The 27-year-old Black man is mourned by a large family, including his wife, three young daughters — one of whom turned 8 years old on Saturday — and a teenage stepson.
• At a news conference on Monday, Brooks' family described him as someone who was "silly," enjoyed dancing, and doted on his family.
• "I'm asking for everyone in this nation to stand with us as we seek justice for Rayshard," his niece Chastity Evans said at a news conference Monday.

Rayshard Brooks and his wife, Tomika Miller, watched on TV as protests over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis erupted across the US.

Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man with tattoos on his face, had been "stereotyped" by the police in the past, Miller said at a press conference on Monday, adding that she was "scared every day."

As thousands of people demanded an end to systemic racism and police brutality, Miller recalled saying, "Baby, I don't ever want that to be you."

Brooks, in keeping with his upbeat and positive outlook toward life, responded, "No, it's going to change," according to Miller.

"He always tried to stay positive about everything," she said.

On Friday night, two Atlanta police officers responded to a complaint of a man asleep in his car at a Wendy's drive-thru.

That man was Brooks. And by the end of the incident, he was dead.

Brooks was asked to take an alcohol breath test, which he failed, and a scuffle ensued when the two officers tried to arrest him. As video footage showed, he grabbed one of the officers' Tasers and took off running. The pair chased him, and one of the officers, Garrett Rolfe, shot Brooks in the back. He died later at a hospital.

The fatal encounter was recorded by the officers' body-worn cameras and dashcams as well as several witnesses in the restaurant's parking lot and a security camera.

For Black people, being arrested triggers deep-seated fears

Brooks' family hosted an emotional press conference Monday. The goal, according to Justin Miller, one of their attorneys, wasn't to delve into the case — it was to introduce the nation to the people who knew, loved, and lost Brooks.

"On June 12, one of our biggest fears became a reality," said Chassidy Evans, Brooks' niece. "Not only did we lose another Black unarmed male. This time, it landed on our front doorstep ... No one walking this green earth expects to be shot and killed like trash in the street for falling asleep in a drive-thru."

Miller said people of color in the room had harbored fears about police encounters "since birth."

"So that's a trauma that's deep," he said. "It's not something that just started two months ago."

A fellow attorney, L. Chris Stewart, addressed why Brooks might resist arrest in the first place.

"They put George Floyd in handcuffs, and he was subsequently killed," he said.

In his last moments, Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was handcuffed and calling out for his deceased mother while he was pinned to the ground by three police officers, one of whom kept a knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes even as Floyd said he couldn't breathe and eventually became unresponsive.

"Watching this video of George Floyd over and over again, his reaction may have been, 'I'm not getting put in handcuffs,'" Stewart said. "So we can't just toss it out because he resisted. George Floyd didn't, and it ended the same way."

Brooks described as 'silly,' always smiling, and loved his family

Brooks had three daughters, Blessing, 8, Memory, 2, and Dream, 1. His stepson, Mekai, is 13 years old, according to a GoFundMe campaign that had raised more than $100,000 as of Monday afternoon. The actor Tyler Perry will be paying for Brooks' funeral, Stewart said on Monday.

Brooks' family members and friends haven't really slept since the video of his final moments "traumatized" them, Evans said. But Brooks was more than the way he was killed, she said.

"Rayshard Brooks was silly — he had the brightest smile, the biggest heart, loved to dance," she said. "Not only was he a girl dad, he was a loving husband, caring brother, and, most importantly to me, an uncle I could depend on."

Evans said she and her family loved Atlanta. So when the message of Black Lives Matter protests was usurped by people rioting, damaging buildings and businesses, and torching police cars, Evans described being upset on behalf of the police, who she believed didn't mistreat the city's residents.

"When they were busting out the windows at CNN Center, we were like, why are they doing this to our city?" she said, adding: "This doesn't happen in our city."

But, Evans said, Brooks' death forced her to "eat my words."

Now, the family is demanding justice.

"My uncle did not die in vain," she said. "His life mattered. George Floyd's life mattered. Breonna Taylor's life mattered. Michael Brown's life mattered. Sandra Bland's life mattered. I'm not only asking the city of Atlanta to stand with us — I'm asking for everyone in this nation to stand with us as we seek justice for Rayshard."

Friday began as a joyous day in the Brooks household — but things went terribly awry, according to Stewart. Saturday was Blessing's eighth birthday, and she was in her party dress and enjoying cupcakes unaware that her father, who was supposed to take her skating, had been shot dead.

'I can never get my husband back'

"Words can't explain how thankful I am for everything," Miller said. "Even though I can't bring my husband back, I know he's [looking] down smiling because his name will forever be remembered."

She requested people to continue demanding changes, but to do so peacefully "because we want to keep his name positive and great." On Saturday, the Wendy's where Brooks died was burned down as thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to demand justice for him and his family.

"There's no justice that can ever make me feel happy about what's been done. I can never get my husband back," Miller said. "I can never get my best friend [back], I can never tell my daughter, 'Oh, he's coming to take you skating or [to] swimming lessons."

"So it's just going to be a long time before I heal — it's going to be a long time before this family heals," she continued.

Brooks died from "gunshot wounds of the back" that caused "organ injuries and blood loss," the Fulton County medical examiner's office ruled Sunday.

"Rayshard Brooks: The name that may start a protest tomorrow or another day in the future. However, the man himself no longer has a future," said Tiara Brooks, his cousin, who said the family was "tired," "frustrated," and "heartbroken."

"The trust that we have with the police force is broken, and the only way to heal some of these wounds is through a conviction and a drastic change with the police department," she added.

Rolfe was fired from the police department, and the second officer involved in Brooks' arrest, Devin Brosnan, has been placed on administrative duty. Atlanta's police chief, Erika Shields, also resigned on Saturday.

Policing today lacks 'empathy,' the Brooks' family attorney said

"How many more protests will it take to ensure that the next victim isn't your cousin, your brother, your uncle, your nephew, your friend, or your companion so that we can finally end the suffering of police excessive use of force?" Tiara Brooks wondered.

Stewart called Rolfe's actions "reckless" and "unnecessary," as the officers had Brooks' driver's license and knew where he lived, limiting the risks had he escaped. But rather than pursuing him further, Rolfe fired his weapon in a crowded parking lot, said Stewart, holding up images of a witness' car that he said was struck by a bullet.

"A couple of feet up and we'd have had another loss of life," he said.

Stewart condemned what he called a loss of "empathy" among police officers, particularly when it came to Black Americans, and called for a "mental change" in law enforcement.

The news conference began and ended with tears as Brooks' family members left the room sobbing and with their arms around one another.

Before walking out of the door, Stewart concluded: "Sadly, I'm probably going to be back here in a few months, with another case."

Stewart did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

• Read more:
• Atlanta police fatally shot a Black man outside a Wendy's after he fell asleep at the drive-thru, then later grabbed an officer's Taser
• Police have released body-cam footage showing the struggle before the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks by the Atlanta police
• Medical examiner says Rayshard Brooks died from gunshot wounds to the back and his death has been labeled a homicide
• The Atlanta police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks has been fired, and a 2nd officer is on administrative leave
• Rayshard Brooks celebrated his 8-year-old daughter's birthday hours before he was shot dead by Atlanta police
• The Atlanta police website went down after the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks. The hacktivist group Anonymous claimed responsibility.