Atlanta to Pay $1 Million to Family of Rayshard Brooks

The Atlanta City Council unanimously approved a $1 million settlement with the widow of Rayshard Brooks, who was shot and killed by a police officer following a struggle in June 2020. 

Brooks, a 27-year-old black man, was shot and killed by Garrett Rolfe the night of June 12, 2020, outside a Wendy's restaurant. Police responded to complaints of a man sleeping in a car drive-thru lane. Police body camera video shows Rolfe and Devin Brosnan, having a calm conversation with Brooks for nearly 40 minutes. When the officers told Brooks he’d had too much to drink to be driving and tried to arrest him, Brooks resisted in a struggle caught on dash camera video. Brooks grabbed a Taser from one of the officers and fled, firing it at Rolfe as he ran. Rolfe fatally shot Brooks, Fox 5 reports.

The shooting led to protests and riots in Atlanta.  

Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, was appointed as a special prosecutor in Brooks' case. Skandalakis determined in August that the use of deadly force was "objectively reasonable," saying that he doesn't think race played a role in the shooting, Fox reports.

Five days after the incident, former Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced warrants against Rolfe and the other officer involved, Devin Brosnan, but the special prosecutor said in August that he would dismiss those charges after his investigation. 

The  officers have since announced lawsuits , seeking monetary damages from the city, the former mayor and police chief. The suit claims the city violated officers’ constitutional rights. The case has yet to be adjudicated.