Rayshard Brooks' girlfriend Natalie White arrested for setting ablaze Atlanta Wendy's where cops shot him dead
ATLANTA, GEORGIA: A woman identified as Rayshard Brooks' girlfriend was arrested on Tuesday, June 23, on suspicion of setting fire to the Wendy's outlet where Brooks was shot dead by a police officer. Natalie White, 29, reportedly handed herself to the authorities in Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday afternoon. White's arrest was announced by the Fulton County Sheriff's Office Fugitive Unit at around 3:30 pm.
An arrest warrant was issued for her by the police on June 20, and surveillance footage of her inside a store had also been shared asking for information and whereabouts of White from the public. Officials have said that White is partly to blame for setting the fast-food restaurant ablaze on June 13, where Brooks was shot dead by Officer Garrett Rolfe after falling asleep at the wheel of his car. Brooks was married, however, on the night of his death, he told the officers that he was at Wendy's to pick up food for him and his "girlfriend" Natalie White.
The Atlanta Fire Department, on June 17, had released clearer photographs White, one of the two women, suspected of burning down the eatery and had also issued an award of $20,000 to anyone who can give information leading to the arrest of the arsonists who targeted the Wendy's off University Avenue.
White's attorney Drew Findling, while talking to the Daily Mail, confirmed his client's arrest and White's relationship with Brooks, saying they were "very close." However, Findling refused to provide details out of respect for Brook's wife Tomika Miller. At the time White was taken into custody, Miller was grieving at Brooks' funeral. The attorney also confirmed that White was the woman Brooks had referred to as his girlfriend, adding that she had no criminal record.
Police disclosed White's name over the weekend as one of the women involved in setting off the fire, however, she has categorically denied all allegations. Findling has insisted that his client had nothing to do with it and "is not guilty". "She is absolutely not responsible,' Findling said, adding that the particular Wendy's was already on fire by the time she was photographed at the scene.
Authorities have not yet disclosed how they linked White to Brooks or the arson. No one in Brooks' family has spoken about him having a "girlfriend" either, reports state. Police had released video footage, suggesting that the woman in the pictures they released is the same one who was caught in a video that showed her setting fire to the restaurant as protesters around slammed her for it. The protesters then filmed the incident to prove that the Black Lives Matter supporters were not responsible for the arson.
Chief fire investigator James Oliver, in a statement this week, revealed that the fire had been started by multiple people using devices like a blow torch and fireworks. The eatery was set ablaze during protests against Brooks' killing by a police officer.
A video from the scene of the protest went viral which showed the two female suspects fanning the flames. Protesters, in the clip, can be heard condemning the woman and insisting that the women were not among the protesters. "Look at the white girl trying to set s*** on fire," the man recording the video can heard saying. "Look at that white girl trying to burn down a Wendy's. This wasn't us," he adds. "This wasn't us!"
Brooks was shot dead on Friday, June 12, in the parking lot of Wendy's in University Avenue, Atlanta, shortly after he failed a sobriety test. The 27-year-old wrestled with the officers attempting to detain him, stole a taser from them and began running when former Atlanta Police Department officer Garrett Rolfe fired shots at him. Rolfe, 27, has been fired from the department and could face murder charges in the case. Another officer at the scene, Devin Brosnan, has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. An autopsy released on Sunday, June 14, declared Brooks' death a homicide, showing he suffered gunshot wounds to the back.