Atlanta PD officer Garrett Rolfe who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks at Wendy’s charged with felony murder
ATLANTA, GEORGIA: The Atlanta Police officer Garrett Rolfe, who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks, an African-American man, at a Wendy's parking lot, was charged with felony murder on Wednesday, June 17. According to an announcement made by Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, the other officer on the scene, Devin Brosnan, was charged with aggravated assault.
On Friday, June 12, Rolfe and Brosnan responded to a call from the parking lot of a Wendy's in the city. 27-year-old Brooks was drunk and fell asleep at the food chain’s drive-in. The officers reportedly administered a sobriety test, which he failed. After he resisted arrest, Brooks grabbed a Taser and fled on foot. He then turned back and pointed the Taser at a police officer, at which point he was shot dead. Following the public outcry over this incident, Rolfe was fired and police chief Erika Shields resigned.
As per a CNN report, Rolfe faces 11 charges in all, two of which, are for aggravated assault related to a bullet he fired that hit an occupied vehicle nearby. Brosnan, on the other hand, faces three charges, which include two counts of violations of oath of office.
Per District Attorney Howard, after shooting Brooks, Rolfe said “I got him,” and kicked him, and Brosnan stood on Brooks' shoulder. Howard added that the officers did not provide medical aid to Brooks for over two minutes after shooting him. “The demeanor of the officers immediately after the shooting did not reflect any fear or danger of Mr. Brooks, but their actions really reflected other kinds of emotions,” Howard said.
Brosnan, reportedly, has agreed to be a state's witness, Howard said. As per Howard, “I don't remember a circumstance where we had an officer, particularly in a case this important, to step forward and say that they would cooperate with the state.”
Per CNN, arrest warrants have been issued for the two and they have been asked to surrender by Thursday. With the felony murder charge, Rolfe potentially faces the death penalty if convicted.
Reportedly, Rolfe has several citizen complaints against him dating back to 2015. No action, however, was taken against him. The only occasion he faced punishments of any kind was when in 2016, when a “use of force” complaint was filed against him. This resulted in a written reprimand the following year. Rolfe was hired in 2013. Brosnan was hired in 2018.
Brooks' wife Tomika Miller previously said she wants both officers involved in the killing to go to jail. "I want them to deal with the same thing as if it was my husband who killed someone else. If it was my husband who shot them, he would be in jail. He would be doing a life sentence. They need to be put away," she said.