The officer who shot Rayshard Brooks after Brooks was found asleep in an Atlanta, Georgia, Wendy's drive-thru will not be criminally charged, a special prosecutor announced on Tuesday. Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, said during a news conference that he will administratively dismiss 11 counts against Officer Garrett Rolfe, including one for felony murder. Skandalakis also said he would not be charging Devin Brosnan, Rolfe’s peer who responded to the scene.
"Both acted as reasonable officers would under the facts and circumstances of the events of that night," he said. "Both acted in accordance with well-established law and were justified in the use of force regarding the situation."
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The prosecutor said in announcing his decision that this case was not like that of George Floyd, in which an officer was kneeling on a prone suspect for nine minutes. "It's nothing like that," Skandalakis said, "nor is it like the Ahmaud Arbery case where armed citizens were chasing a person down through a neighborhood. [...] But you can’t ignore the fact that all of this was happening about the same time.”
Skandalakis said that he reached out to local and state law enforcement officials so they could prepare for any unrest in advance of his announcement.
“Black lives do matter,” Skandalakis said. “I’ve spent my entire career representing Black victims of crime. I understand that the encounters between police and the African American community at times are very volatile. But I would ask them to look at the facts of this case, and this isn’t one of those cases […] This is a case in which the officers were willing to give Mr. Brooks every benefit of the doubt, and unfortunately by his actions, this is what happened.”
Warning: This video released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation shows disturbing footage of the police shooting that may be triggering for viewers.
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Rolfe not only shot Brooks, 27, on June 12, 2020, but one of the cops on the scene is accused of then standing on Brooks’ shoulder. Former Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said when he announced his plan for criminal charges against the officers that both of the officers waited two minutes and 12 seconds before calling for help. The former district attorney, however, wasn’t reelected after a federal investigation was made public related to his alleged use of a nonprofit to inflate his salary some $200,000.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the first female district attorney in the county, recused herself from the case after initially being denied from doing so. Another judge ultimately allowed her recusal. Willis said she didn’t think she would be able to keep the case in the county “due to the fact that the district attorney chose to have this show, this Ringling Brothers show” going through the “facts and alleged evidence in the case.”
Attorney General Chris Carr appointed Skandalakis in her place. He spelled out what happened according to his investigation. He said the Wendy’s received several complaints about a man later identified as Brooks blocking the drive-thru line, which at the time was the only means of service at the location. Brooks was asleep in his car when a manager responding to those complaints went outside to knock on his window, Skandalakis said. Brooks didn’t wake up immediately, but when he did, he rolled down his window and the manager asked him to move his vehicle. He looked at her, rolled up his window, and went back to sleep, Skandalakis said. At some point, 911 was called, and Brosnan responded first, Skandalakis said. The entire encounter between Brooks and police lasted 40 minutes and 23 seconds, and during much of that time conversation between Brooks and the officers remained cordial, Skandalakis said. That changed when officers sought to place Brooks under arrest for driving under the influence "and Mr. Brooks lunges at both officers and basically overpowers the officers," Skandalakis said.
Brooks took the Taser from one officer and tried to use it against both officers before taking off running and firing the Taser at Rolfe, Skandalakis said. At that point, Rolfe responded by firing his weapon, the prosecutor said.
Watch Skandalakis’ full announcement here:
Gerald Griggs, president of the Georgia NAACP, told Channel 2 Action News he "respectively disagrees with the decision of this prosecutor."
"As the cradle of civil rights, as the oldest civil rights organization, we want civil rights to mean something in this town and 2020 was a racial awakening, so we need to continue that and address the issue," Griggs said. "The issue is police accountability.”
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement about Skandalakis' decision that he respects the "independent role that the special prosecutor played in this case … My heart continues to ache for the family of Rayshard Brooks," Dickens said. "He was a father whose absence will forever be felt by our community."
Democrat and gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams tweeted a call to action regarding criminal justice reform. "My prayers are with the family and loved ones of Rayshard Brooks,” she said. “Accountability is an essential component for community trust and public safety — a component that is in question today.
“Deescalation, co-responders and transparency must become the expected standards."
Rep. Nikema Williams tweeted in more definitive terms. “This is not justice,” she said. “Rayshard Brooks should still be with us today and my prayers are with his family and loved ones. We are DONE dying at the hands of police.”