GEORGIA—Former Atlanta Police Officer, Garrett Rolfe, was charged with murder and aggravated assault of Rayshard Brooks on Wednesday, June 17. Brooks, 27, was fatally shot outside Wendy’s restaurant on June 12 after resisting arrest and assaulting and overpowering Rolfe and another officer.
According to the bodycam and dashcam footage from authorities, a Wendy’s worker called 911 complaining that Brooks was sleeping in his car, blocking the drive-thru line. When Officer Devin Brosnan arrived, he asked Brooks to move his car to the parking lot. Later on, when Rolfe arrived, Brosnan explained the situation to him and told him that Brooks had been drinking alcohol.
Rolfe had approximately a 25-minute-long conversation with Brooks. He repeatedly asked Brooks how he came to the place and how much he drank, while Brooks gave him differing and vague responses. Brooks failed the breathalyzer.
Rolfe asked him to put his hands behind his back. Brooks resisted arrest, assaulting both officers and stealing a taser. He ran off with Officers Brosnan’s taser gun. Rolfe chased after him, Brooks fired the taser gun towards Officers Rolfe’s head. Rolfe returned fire with his service weapon striking Brooks twice.
Officers immediately began CPR until paramedics arrived. Brooks was rushed to the hospital where he later died of the injuries.
Rolfe faces a total of 11 charges and Brosnan faces three charges including aggravated assault and violation of oath. Brosnan still works with the police force on administrative duty and is now collaborating with prosecutors for the investigation.
“For more than two decades, I have served alongside some of the finest men and women in the Atlanta Police Department. Out of a deep and abiding love for this city and this department, I offered to step aside as police chief,” said Chief Erika Shields. “APD has my full support, and Mayor Bottoms has my support on the future direction of this department. I have faith in the Mayor, and it is time for the city to move forward and build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve,” said Shields who resigned on June 13.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued two new Administrative Orders related to transforming the City of Atlanta Police Department on June 16. “We are taking a top to bottom review of how we police in Atlanta. These Administrative Orders will help accelerate our efforts to transform public safety within our city,” said Bottoms.
It was reported that an unusually high number of officers in Atlanta did not show up to work evening shifts on June 18 and the morale was low.
“Earlier suggestions that multiple officers from each zone had walked off the job were inaccurate. The department is experiencing a higher than the usual number of call-outs with the incoming shift. We have enough resources to maintain operations and remain able to respond to incidents,” said Atlanta Police Department via Twitter.
“You can’t resist a police officer, and if you have a disagreement, you have to take it up after the fact,” Trump told Fox News. “It’s up to justice right now. It’s going to be up to justice. I hope he (Rolfe) gets a fair shake because police have not been treated fairly in our country. But again, you can’t resist a police officer like that.”
Paul L. Howard Jr., the Fulton County District Attorney, has repeatedly falsified information shown on the video at public press conferences. Howard is under investigation for embezzling $140,000.00 from tax payer money and for sexual assault.
Melissa Rolfe, the stepmother of Garrett Rolfe, has been fired from her job. She had been a human resources director in Equity Prime Mortgage, an Atlanta-based company. The company released a statement on Thursday night saying Melissa Rolfe was fired because she violated company policy and created an uncomfortable environment for many of their employees. The company didn’t mention what policy she had violated.
The Atlanta Police Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization announced on Thursday, June 18 that it will issue a $500 bonus to each Atlanta Police Department officer. In addition, the organization will provide meals to officers who work 12-hour shifts and repair police bicycles, UTV units, and more than 20 patrol cars destroyed during the recent protests.
Annie Wei contributed to this assignment.
