Killing of Rayshard Brooks

On the night of June 12, 2020, Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old African American man, was fatally shot by Atlanta Police Department (APD) officer Garrett Rolfe. Fellow officer Devin Brosnan had responded to a complaint that Brooks was asleep in a car blocking a restaurant drive-through lane; Rolfe arrived after Brosnan radioed for assistance some minutes later. After a breathalyzer exam indicated that Brooks's blood-alcohol content was above the legal limit for driving, Rolfe and Brosnan began to handcuff Brooks. Brooks scuffled with the officers, got hold of Brosnan's taser, punched Rolfe, and ran. With Rolfe pursuing him, Brooks half-turned and fired the taser toward Rolfe, who then shot Brooks twice from behind while a third shot struck an occupied car. Brooks died after surgery.

Killing of Rayshard Brooks
Image from Devin Brosnan's bodycam showing Rayshard Brooks (left) and Garrett Rolfe
DateJune 12, 2020 (2020-06-12)
Time11:23 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)
LocationAtlanta, Georgia, United States
Coordinates33°43′18.4″N 84°23′31.3″W
Charges

Footage of the incident, recorded from the officers' bodycams, a witness's phone and the restaurant's security system, was widely broadcast. Police chief Erika Shields resigned one day later; that same day, Rolfe was fired and Brosnan was placed on administrative duty.

Based on these videos and witness reports, prosecutors claimed that after Brooks was shot, Rolfe kicked Brooks and Brosnan stood on his shoulder. Rolfe was charged with felony murder and ten other offenses; Brosnan with aggravated assault and two counts of violation of oath.

People involved

Rayshard Brooks was a 27-year-old African American restaurant worker who lived in Atlanta.[1] He had been married eight years and had three daughters and a stepson.[2][3] In a February 2020 interview he discussed the two years he spent in prison and his difficulties after being released, such as difficulty finding work.[4][5] A driving under the influence conviction could have led to revocation of his probation and a return to prison.[6][7]

Garrett Rolfe had been a police officer in the Atlanta Police Department since 2013. He was part of APD units specializing in DUI enforcement.[8] In 2016, he received a written reprimand for aiming his gun at a stolen car being pursued.[9] In May 2019, he was honored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving for making more than 50 DUI arrests the previous year.[8] In early 2020, he undertook training in the use of deadly force and in de-escalation.[8]

Devin Brosnan has been an Atlanta police officer since 2018.[10]

Death
External video
Brosnan's body camera on YouTube (Rolfe moves to handcuff Brooks at 43:00)
Rolfe's body camera on YouTube (Rolfe moves to handcuff Brooks at 29:00)
Witness video of Brooks, Rolfe, and Brosnan struggling on YouTube
Security camera video showing Rolfe shooting Brooks and subsequent events on YouTube

At 10:42 p.m. on Friday, June 12, 2020, Atlanta Police Department officer Devin Brosnan arrived at the Wendy's restaurant at 125 University Avenue in South Atlanta to investigate a report of a man (Brooks) asleep in a car which was blocking the drive-through lane.[11][12] Brosnan awakened Brooks and told him to move the car to a parking space and take a nap; Brooks fell asleep again without moving the car. Brosnan again woke Brooks and Brooks parked the car. Brosnan checked Brooks's driver's license and radioed for assistance from an officer certified to conduct driving under the influence investigations.[13][14]

Officer Garrett Rolfe arrived at 10:56[11] and, with Brooks's permission, performed a pat-down search for weapons, a field sobriety test, and a breathalyzer test.[15] Brooks appeared impaired[16][17] and was confused about where he was.[18] He said he had had one to one-and-a-half drinks[8] and denied driving[12] or being too drunk to drive.[11] The Breathalyzer registered a blood alcohol level of 0.108%, above the legal limit of 0.08%.[8] Brooks asked to leave his car in the parking lot overnight and walk to his sister's house a short distance away.[19] News outlets have characterized Brooks as relaxed,[12] friendly,[13] and cooperative.[17]

At 11:23,[12] Rolfe told Brooks: "All right, I think you've had too much to drink to be driving. Put your hands behind your back for me";[15] he and Brosnan then moved behind Brooks to handcuff him.[10] Brooks tried to break free and he and the officers scuffled on the ground. During the struggle Brosnan drew his taser, but Brooks wrested it from him and fired it;[20] Brosnan says the taser contacted him and he struck his head on the pavement.[16] Brooks stood up and punched Rolfe, who drew his own taser and shot Brooks with it.[17] Brooks fled through the parking lot with Brosnan's taser still in hand. Rolfe pursued him and fired again with his own taser.[12] While still running, Brooks glanced back, half-turned, and fired the second shot of Brosnan's taser  – capable of two shots before being reloaded[18] – over Rolfe's head.[11][19]

According to prosecutors, Brooks and Rolfe were 18 feet (5.5 m) apart[21][lower-alpha 1] when Rolfe dropped his taser, drew his handgun[11] and shot Brooks once in the midback and once in the buttocks;[23] a third shot struck a nearby vehicle, narrowly missing its three occupants.[17][20] According to prosecutors, disputed by Rolfe’s attorneys,[24] Rolfe then said "I got him".[16][22]

Two minutes after Brooks was shot Rolfe appeared to unroll a bandage and place it on Brooks's torso. Seven minutes after Brooks was shot an ambulance arrived and he was taken to the hospital, where he died following surgery.[11] Brosnan was treated for a concussion.[25]

Employment actions

The next day, Rolfe was fired and Brosnan was placed on administrative duty.[8] On August 4, Rolfe's attorneys filed a lawsuit against Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Acting Police Chief Rodney Bryant for unlawful dismissal, seeking Rolfe's reinstatement, along with back pay and benefits.[26][27]

Prosecution

Following standard procedure, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) opened an investigation.[28] The county medical examiner ruled Brooks' death a homicide.[29]

On June 17, while the GBI investigation was still ongoing, Paul Howard, the Fulton County District Attorney (DA), announced eleven charges against Rolfe: felony murder, five counts of aggravated assault, four police oath violations, and damage to property.[30] Brosnan was charged with aggravated assault and two counts of violation of oath.[31][32] Howard said that Rolfe should have been aware that the taser Brooks had taken posed no danger, as after being fired twice it could not fire again; that Rolfe and Brosnan did not provide timely medical aid to Brooks for over two minutes and that before they did, Rolfe kicked him and Brosnan stood on his shoulders;[22] and that it was a violation of department policy for Rolfe to begin handcuffing Brooks before telling him he was being arrested.[16][20]

Brosnan was released on June 18 after posting a $50,000 signature bond.[33] Around June 18, the Georgia Law Enforcement Organization, a law enforcement nonprofit, began raising funds for Rolfe to pay his legal fees, raising $500,000 by August 13.[34][35][36] Rolfe was released on July 1 on a $500,000 bond with conditions.[37][38]

On or about July 14, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr requested that the GBI widen its investigation into the Fulton County DA's office, headed by Howard, to determine whether grand jury subpoenas seeking information about Rolfe were legally issued. Howard was already the subject of a GBI investigation concerning his use of a nonprofit to funnel almost $200,000 of city funds into his personal bank account.[39][40]

On July 20, Rolfe's attorney filed a motion seeking to have DA Howard recused from the Rolfe prosecution on the basis that the he would be called as a necessary witness by the defense to answer regarding statements he made that the attorney alleged were “ethically inappropriate" and actions that allegedly "systematically sought to deprive Garrett Rolfe of a fair trial and impartial jury."[39]

During the week of August 2, the DA's office applied to obtain a search warrant to gain information about the fundraising site set up for Rolfe, attempting to obtain information including on who had established the site, how much money had been raised, and where the money went, representing it wanted the information to support a possible bond violation charge. One of Rolfe's attorneys condemned the request stating, "...he [DA Howard] sought to uncover the private information of Americans who donated to Garrett Rolfe’s defense because they believed in his innocence.” Subsequently, a judge denied the warrant application.[36]

On August 4, the day Rolfe's attorneys filed the lawsuit for reinstatement, the DA's office filed a motion to revoke Rolfe's bond, alleging that Rolfe had traveled to Florida without permission.[41][26][27] Rolfe's attorneys filed a response with the court stating the bond conditions neither placed Rolfe on house arrest/home confinement, nor was he prohibited from traveling out of state, and that they had, as a courtesy, notified prosecutors of his travel via email prior to traveling.[42] On August 12, the presiding judge refused to revoke Rolfe's bond, but amended it prohibiting out of state travel.[43]

On August 12, DA Howard was defeated in his bid for re-election.[44]

Reactions

Demonstrators gathered at the site of the shooting beginning June 12.[45] On June 13, protesters burned down the Wendy's restaurant outside which Brooks was shot, set fire to several nearby cars, and broke a television camera.[46][47][48] A woman acquainted with Brooks was charged with first-degree arson in connection with the restaurant fire.[49] Protests continued in the area around the Wendy's, there were problems with armed protesters closing adjacent streets with barriers, and on July 4 an 8-year-old girl was killed when the car she was riding in was shot at by protesters.[50]

On June 13, Atlanta's police chief Erika Shields resigned; Mayor Bottoms said Shields had resigned in the hope that "the city may move forward with urgency and [rebuild] the trust so desperately needed throughout our communities."[51][52][53] On June 15, Mayor Bottoms ordered the Atlanta Police Department to overhaul its use-of-force policies.[54]

Beginning the day after charges against Rolfe were announced, Atlanta police officers called in sick for their shifts, staging a "blue flu" protest.[55][56][57] In the four days from June 17 to 20, about 170 officers called in sick and officers in 3 out of the city's 6 police zones did not respond to calls.[58] On the evening of June 19 every police officer failed to report for duty in Zone 5, leaving only the three supervisors.[59] Atlanta's Acting Police Chief Bryant said that the department had "to shift resources to insure proper coverage" due to police absenteeism.[60] Total arrests citywide dropped by 71% during the sickout.[61] Mayor Bottoms said the sickout was a reaction to two weeks of strife during which eight APD officers were criminally charged in two separate incidents, sinking morale "ten-fold."[21][62] On June 18, the Atlanta Police Foundation, a private nonprofit group, announced that all APD officers would receive a one-time $500 bonus for continuing to work through the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent George Floyd protests.[63][64]

See also

Notes
  1. Tasers have a range of about 15 feet (4.6 m).[22]

References
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