Global InformationKilling of Rayshard Brooks information
 Image from Devin Brosnan's bodycam showing Rayshard Brooks (left) and Garrett Rolfe | |
| Date | June 12, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Time | 11:23 p.m. (EST) |
| Location | Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| Coordinates | 33°43′18.4″N 84°23′31.3″W / 33.721778°N 84.392028°W |
| Type | Suicide by shooting, Suicide by cop |
| Participants | Garrett Rolfe (shooter) |
| Deaths | Rayshard Brooks |
On the night of June 12, 2020, Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old African American man, was confronted by officers of the APD and was shot by Atlanta Police Department (APD) officer Garrett Rolfe.
APD officer Devin Brosnan was responding to a complaint that Brooks was asleep in a car in a Wendy's restaurant drive-through lane. Rolfe arrived minutes later and conducted a weapons search pat-down, a field sobriety test, and breathalyzer test of Brooks.[1] While talking with officers, Brooks offered several times to walk home.[2][3] After the breathalyzer, Rolfe stated Brooks was too drunk to drive and attempted to arrest him.
A physical confrontation ensued, during which Brooks struck officer Brosnan, grabbed Brosnan's taser and attempted to run away.[1] Rolfe pursued Brooks on foot, and Brooks turned and fired the taser toward Rolfe. Rolfe then fired his gun three times at Brooks, hitting him twice. A third shot struck an occupied car. By the time Brooks was shot by Rolfe, the taser had fired twice, the maximum times it could be fired.[4] Brooks died after surgery.
Video recorded from the officers' bodycams, a witness's phone and the restaurant's security system, was widely broadcast.[3] Police chief Erika Shields resigned one day later; that same day, Rolfe was fired and Brosnan was placed on administrative duty. Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard charged Rolfe with felony murder and ten other offenses; Brosnan with aggravated assault and two counts of violation of oath.
Howard used video clips from the shooting in his campaign commercials for his unsuccessful 2020 reelection bid. Howard's successor decided the DA's office could not prosecute the charges against Rolfe.[5] On May 5, 2021, the Civil Service Board of the City of Atlanta reinstated Rolfe with back pay, after finding that the City of Atlanta did not afford him his right to due process.[6][7]
In June 2022, Rolfe and Brosnan filed a federal lawsuit alleging that they were attacked by Brooks and had the right to use force to prevent him from “imminent use of unlawful force against them.”[8] On August 23, 2022, prosecutors announced that they had dropped all charges against both officers, saying that "the use of deadly force was objectively reasonable and that they did not act with criminal intent."[9][8]
Brooks' family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Atlanta in September 2021. Both parties reached a $1 million dollar settlement in November 2022.[10]
- ^ a b Kelly, Cara (June 17, 2020). "Rayshard Brooks video: Legal scholars break down key moments in shooting timeline". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 20, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- ^ "Rayshard Brooks should have been allowed to walk home instead of being shot by police, say family lawyers". Reuters. June 15, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
- ^ a b Rayshard Brooks shooting: Police bodycam footage from Wendy's shooting, retrieved April 30, 2023
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Brumbackwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Burch, Audra D. S.; Eligon, John (January 29, 2021). "Prosecutor Wants Rayshard Brooks Case Moved, Blaming Her Predecessor". The New York Times. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- ^ "Atlanta police officer fired after fatally shooting Rayshard Brooks has been reinstated". ABC News. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ Abusaid, Shaddi (May 11, 2021). "Lawsuit: Atlanta officer broke man's collarbone weeks before shooting Rayshard Brooks". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
AJCDwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
DISwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Atlanta to pay $1 million settlement to family of Rayshard Brooks, who was shot and killed by a police officer in 2020". CBS News. November 22, 2022.