Charges Dropped Against Atlanta Officers in 2020 Shooting of Rayshard Brooks
In June 2020 Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard Jr. charged Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe with felony murder. Officer Devin Brosnan, who was also involved in the attempt to arrest Brooks but not in the shooting, was charged with aggravated assault and two counts of violating his oath.
Prosecutors overseeing the case against two Atlanta Police Department officers in the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks said Tuesday the officers "committed no crimes."
Peter J. Skandalakis, the lead prosecutor appointed by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, determined Garrett Rolfe was justified in shooting Brooks in 2020 and dismissed charges against him and Devin Brosnan, Fox 5 reports.
The shooting, which occurred in the immediate aftermath of the George Floyd incident, triggered protests, property destruction, and violence in the city during the summer of 2020.
The investigation and analysis of several video sources determined Brooks took Brosnan's Taser and fired it at him. Investigators said Rolfe determined Brooks posed an immediate threat when wielding the Taser.
"It's my conclusion that the use of deadly force was objectively reasonable," investigator and former prosecutor Danny Porter said.
Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by officer Garrett Rolfe outside a Wendy's restaurant after failing a sobriety test, fighting with two officers, taking a Taser from one and running away. While fleeing, Brooks aimed the Taser at Rolfe, who then shot Brooks twice in the back, killing him, surveillance video shows.
In June 2020 Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard Jr. charged Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe with felony murder. Officer Devin Brosnan, who was also involved in the attempt to arrest Brooks but not in the shooting, was charged with aggravated assault and two counts of violating his oath.
The DA lost the election later that year and his successor referred the case to the Georgia attorney general.
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