Who is Garrett Rolfe and why did he shoot Rayshard Brooks in the back several times in Atlanta?
RAYSHARD Brooks was shot several times by members of the Atlanta police department after he was found sleeping in his car in a Wendy’s parking lot on June 12.
Brooks, 27, was tased and shot by officer Garret Rolfe after he and partner Devin Brosnan found Brooks asleep at the wheel of the drive-thru on University Avenue in southwest Atlanta. He was taken to hospital where he later died.
Brooks, a father of four, was killed hours before he was due to celebrate his 8-year-old daughter’s birthday.
Who is Garrett Rolfe?
Garrett Rolfe was the officer responsible for firing three shots at Brooks last Friday night.
Rolfe was fired from the police force as a result of the incident after seven years as an officer.
“There is a clear distinction between what you can do and what you should do,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said in a news conference Saturday. “I do not believe this was a justified use of deadly force.”
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said it would be hard to argue a self-defense case in light of the footage of the incident.
“There’s one good thing about video,” the DA said last night.
“Because in the video we actually get a chance to hear the officer’s first statement after the shooting took place.
“And what the officer said is not that his life was saved. What his statement was, he said: ‘I got him’.”
Howard said that Brooks “did not seem to present any kind of threat to anyone, and so the fact that it would escalate to his death just seems unreasonable.”
The District Attorney said that he is considering charging the officer with either murder, felony murder or involuntary manslaughter and that the decision could be made as early as Wednesday.
What happened to Rayshard Brooks?
Brooks was found asleep in his car at 10.33pm in the drive-thru parking lot of a Wendy’s in southwest Atlanta on June 12.
Officers Rolfe and Brosnan approach the car, asking Brookes to wake up and step out. They ask a series of questions pertaining to Brook’s sobriety before breathalyzing him.
Brooks fails the test and the officer attempts to arrest him. He is seen running from the police then pointing a taser gun back at the two officers that he had taken from their grasp.
He is then shot multiple times by an officer who appears to shout “I got him!”. Brooks was later taken to hospital where he died.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has released a 46-minute surveillance video of the incident, stating that Brooks resisted arrest.
Bodycam footage shows Brooks speaking calmly and cooperating with officers before the scuffle.
Attorney for the Brooks family Justin Miller said in a news conference on Saturday that Brooks had planned a weekend of celebrations for his daughter’s 8th birthday.
He took her to get her nails done earlier on the evening that he was killed, and the two had planned more activities together the day after.
“She had her birthday dress on because she was waiting for her dad to come pick her up to take her to go skating,” Miller said.
“While we were over there, they had a birthday party for her eighth birthday today with cupcakes … while we were sitting there talking with her mom about why her dad’s not coming home.”
Who is police officer Devin Bronsan and how was he involved?
The second officer involved in the encounter with Brooks, Devin Brosnan, has been placed on administrative duty.
He was sworn into the Atlanta police force in 2018. An internal investigation is currently underway in light of the incident.
Brooks leaves behind three daughters, aged 1, 2 and 8 years old, as well as a 13-year-old stepson, according to WGAL.
Former public safety director of Georgia‘s Dekalb County, Cedrick Alexander, said the shooting would open up questions as to how the officers could have handled the situation.
“Here’s a man who took it upon himself to pull off the road to take a nap,” Alexander said.
“Could they have given him a ride home, could they have called him an Uber, and let him sleep it off later, as opposed to arresting him?
“Now that does not in any kind of way excuse Mr. Brooks for resisting arrest.
“But the question is: Are there other protocols that police could have taken?
“And people will ask the question, had he been white and pulled onto the side of the road to take a nap and sleep it off, would they have given him a ride home?”
Where are the protests happening in Atlanta?
As a result of the incident, protests have broken out across Atlanta.
150 protestors marched to the Wendy’s where Brooks was killed on June 13, a day after the incident. They smashed the windows and set fire to the restaurant.
Some took to Interstate 75 to protest, bringing traffic to a standstill.
Brook’s death has not only prompted citywide outrage but was the catalyst for the sudden resignation of Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields.
Mayor Lance Bottoms said Shields was stepping aside “out of a deep and abiding love for this city and this department.”
Shields said: “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.”
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Shields stepped into the role in 2016 as Atlanta’s second female police chief and the city’s first openly gay chief.