Fulton County DA Paul Howard announced 11 charges against former officer Garrett Rolfe, including felony murder, in the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks.
I’m seeing reports on Twitter that Atlanta police officers have started to walk off the job in protest of the charges. The Atlanta Police Department denied the walk-out on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/Atlanta_Police/status/1273415926872969216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Rolfe and officer Devin Brosnan responded to a call of an unresponsive man in a Wendy’s drive-thru:
The officers were called late Friday over complaints of a car blocking the restaurant’s drive-thru lane. Brosnan arrived first and found Brooks alone in the car, apparently asleep. Brooks agreed to move the car, showed his license, and Rolfe arrived minutes later to conduct a sobriety check.The two officers’ body cameras and the dash-mounted cameras in their patrol cars showed they spent more than 40 minutes peacefully questioning Brooks. The fighting erupted when they tried to handcuff Brooks.One of the dash cameras recorded the brawl. As Brooks fights to stand, Brosnan presses a Taser to his leg and threatens to stun him. Brooks grabs the Taser and pulls it away. He struggles to his feet, the Taser in his hand, and starts running.Rolfe fires his Taser and a yelp can be heard above the weapon’s electric crackle. Rolfe runs after Brooks, and seconds later three gunshots sound.Howard said his office spoke with three witnesses and observed eight video recordings – including body camera footage from the two officers, surveillance footage from the Wendy’s, and cell phone video from a witness.Both officers’ body cameras were knocked to the ground in the struggle, and none of the four police cameras captured the shooting. Footage released from a Wendy’s security camera showed Brooks turn and point an object in his hand at one of the officers, who was steps behind him. The officer draws his gun and fires.After the shooting, Howard said Rolfe was heard on camera saying “I got him.”
Here are more details about the charges against Rolfe:
At a Wednesday afternoon press conference, Fulton County D.A. Paul Howard announced that former Atlanta Police Officer Garrett Rolfe is facing 11 charges, including felony murder, multiple counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, first-degree criminal damage to property, and two counts of violating of his oath as a public officer.Officer Devin Brosnan has been charged with a count of aggravated assault and two counts of violating his oath of office. He is now cooperating with the District Attorney’s Office as a witness. Howard said it may be the first time ever an Atlanta police officer has testified against a fellow officer in the same department, noting that he was “almost shocked” Brosnan agreed to do so.If convicted, Rolfe could be sentenced to either life in prison without parole or the death penalty.
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