One recently fired Atlanta police officer and one working Atlanta cop face charges in the murder of Rayshard Brooks after prosecutors found that not only did a white cop shoot Brooks while he was running from police, but one of the cops then stood on his shoulder. Both of the officers waited two minutes and 12 seconds before calling for help, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said Wednesday as he announced the charges against the men.
Officer Garrett Rolfe faces a murder charge and 10 other counts including aggravated assault, criminal damage to property, and violating his oath of office, Howard said. Officer Devin Brosnan is being charged with aggravated assault and two counts of violating his oath of office. “During that 2 minutes and 12 seconds, Officer Rolfe actually kicked Mr. Brooks as he laid on the ground, while he was there fighting for his life,” Howard said.
Before Brooks was shot, he had complied with police for “41 minutes and 17 seconds” and “never presented himself as a threat,” Howard said.
The 27-year-old Black father was sleeping in his car at an Atlanta Wendy’s drive-thru on Friday night when officers called to the scene arrived and started questioning him. In that conversation, one of the officers asked Brooks to move his car out of the drive-thru, which is a violation of Atlanta police policy related to DUIs, Howard said.
Still, video of the incident showed Brooks calmly answering officers’ questions. He told them he had been celebrating his daughter’s birthday when he had a few drinks. Then he failed the officers’ sobriety check, and when they attempted to arrest him, video shows him jerking away in a scuffle that led to Brooks grabbing one of the officer’s Tasers, running, and being shot twice in the back, according to video depictions and state investigators.
Howard said during his news conference that even the manner in which officers tried to detain Brooks was not in accordance with Atlanta police policy, which requires police to inform suspects they are being arrested. The prosecutor said he made his decision to charge the officers after viewing eight pieces of video footage, including the restaurant’s surveillance video and police body cam video.
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“We have also concluded that Rolfe was aware that the Taser in Brooks’ possession, it was fired twice. And once it’s fired twice, it presented no danger to him or to any other persons,” Howard said.
Rolfe, the officer who shot Brooks, was fired from the Atlanta Police Department, and Brosnan, the cop who stood on Brooks’ shoulder, was placed on administrative duty, authorities said.
Rolfe had earlier been the subject of 13 other investigations, one of which involved a use of force case he was reprimanded in, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was "exonerated" in nine of the investigations, but the incident involving the firearm in 2015 didn't have a conclusion in public records the AJC obtained.
Brooks' niece, Chassidy Evans, said during an emotional press conference Monday that officers didn’t have to kill Brooks. “Rayshard has a family who loves him, who would have gladly come and got him so he could be here with us today,” Evans said. “Not only are we hurt, we are angry. When does it stop? We are not only pleading for justice, we are pleading for change.”
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