Atlanta police officer will not face charges in Rayshard Brooks shooting
death
Send a link to a friend
[August 24, 2022]
By Rich McKay and Frank McGurty
ATLANTA (Reuters) -A special prosecutor
will not pursue criminal charges against a white Atlanta police officer
who fatally shot a Black man outside a fast-food restaurant in 2020,
saying on Tuesday that the use of deadly force was justified.
Officer Garrett Rolfe shot Rayshard Brooks after the 27-year-old suspect
resisted an attempt by police to arrest him and started to run away. He
had taken a Taser from a second officer, Devin Brosnan, and fired the
device at both.
Peter Skandalakis, a special prosecutor appointed to review the case,
said Rolfe was justified in shooting Brooks because the Taser could be
considered a deadly weapon in such circumstances and the suspect was
threatening the officers with serious bodily harm.
"Based on the facts and circumstances confronting Officer Rolfe and
Officer Brosnan in this case, it's my conclusion that the use of deadly
force was objectively reasonable and that they did not act with criminal
intent," Daniel Porter, a former Gwinnett County district attorney who
took part in the review, said during a presentation of the finding.
The decision, which will lead to the dismissal of all charges against
Rolfe and Brosnan, drew criticism from a local civil rights leader, who
said a grand jury should have decided.
The Brooks family was "heartbroken, confused, but not angry" and planned
to bring the case to civil court, its attorneys said at a press
conference.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Aug/24/images/ads/current/hartsburggrain_sda_FAIR_2022.png)
"The key thing is that they decided to use lethal force as the man was
running away," said Justin Miller, one of the lawyers.
The shooting, which took place about two weeks after the killing of
George Floyd in Minneapolis, exacerbated outrage over law enforcement's
use of force against people of color. During the days of protests that
followed, the Wendy's restaurant where Brooks was shot was burned to the
ground.
Days after the shooting, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard
charged Rolfe with felony murder, aggravated assault and other crimes.
Brosnan was charged with aggravated assault and violation of oath.
The decision to charge them before the Georgia Bureau of Investigation
completed its investigation led to accusations that Howard, who was up
for re-election, was acting out of political expedience.
Howard was eventually defeated at the polls and his successor was
recused from the case, leading to the appointment of Skandalakis,
executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, to
review the evidence.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/082422PIX/news_n91.jpg)
Former Atlanta Police Department officer
Garrett Rolfe, who was fired after the shooting death of 27-year-old
Rayshard Brooks, poses in an undated photograph released in Atlanta,
Georgia, U.S. June 14, 2020. Atlanta Police Department/Handout via
REUTERS
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Aug/24/images/ads/current/Front_line_Ag_lda_FAIR_2022.png)
RACIAL QUESTION
At the briefing, Skandalakis said he did not believe the shooting
was racially motivated and said the case differed in many ways from
the killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a Black man who died
when his neck was pinned to the ground for nine minutes by a white
officer.
After the announcement, Gerald Griggs, president of the Georgia
NAACP, said prosecutors should have presented the case to an
impartial grand jury. "Race is absolutely a part of it," he said.
"The city was in turmoil when this happened and we still want
answers."
The Atlanta confrontation unfolded when the two officers responded
to complaints that Brooks had fallen asleep behind the wheel in the
drive-through lane of the restaurant. The officers determined Brooks
was driving under the influence of alcohol.
A physical altercation ensued with the officers attempted to arrest
him. Brooks was able to wrest away the Taser and fired it at the
officers as he fled, defying their orders to stop. Rolfe then shot
Brooks twice in the back.
"In this case, you must remember that here we have a peaceful
encounter, that all of a sudden becomes a violent encounter,"
Skandalakis said. "When Brooks takes the Taser, he now becomes
basically a person with an offensive position. He can incapacitate
the officers."
Rolfe had been dismissed from the force days after the shooting by
then-Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, but a year later, he was reinstated
and put on administrative leave after an Atlanta Civil Service Board
ruling. Brosnan was placed on administrative leave after the
incident.
Lance LoRusso, one of the attorneys for the officers, said both men
were relieved. "More than two years after the incident that resulted
in Rayshard Brooks' death, the State of Georgia has finally made the
right decision," he said in a statement.
(Reporting by Rich McKay; Writing by Frank McGurty; Editing by David
Gregorio)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Aug/24/images/ads/current/beasonag_sda_FAIR_2022.png) |