Atlanta City Council to Pay $1 Million to Family of Man Shot by Police after Firing Taser at Officers
The Atlanta City Council voted unanimously to approve a $1 million settlement with the widow of Rayshard Brooks, more than two years after he was shot and killed by a police officer in summer 2020.
Two police officers confronted the 27-year-old black man at an Atlanta Wendy’s after receiving complaints that he was sleeping and blocking the drive-thru in June 2020.
After speaking with Brooks for 40 minutes, officers Garrett Rolfe and Devin Brosnan attempted to arrest him for a DUI. Brooks then grabbed one of the officer’s tasers. Brooks began running away and then turned around and fired the taser at Rolfe. Rolfe then fatally shot Brooks in the back and buttocks.
The settlement comes three months after Georgia special prosecutor Peter Skandalakis announced he would dismiss charges against Rolfe and Brosnan in connection with the case, saying the officers acted appropriately in using deadly force. Skandalakis said the use of deadly force was “objectively reasonable” and that he does not believe race played a role in the shooting.
“This isn’t one of those cases,” Skandalakis said. “This is a case in which the officers were willing to give Mr. Brooks every benefit of the doubt and, you know, unfortunately, by his actions, this is what happened.”
The shooting came at a difficult time for the nation, amid weeks of rioting over the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis.
Two days after Brooks’s death, rioters in Atlanta burned down the Wendy’s where he was fatally shot. Atlanta Fire Department officials said there were at least 10 attempts to set the building on fire, with the blaze beginning in multiple locations using multiple incendiary methods and devices.
Rolfe was fired one day after the incident but was ultimately reinstated in May 2021 after the Atlanta Civil Service Board found the city violated its policies on disciplinary actions.
Rolfe was charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, violations of oath of office and criminal damage to property. Brosnan was charged with aggravated assault and violating his oath.
A spokesperson for the law firm representing Brooks’s family, Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys, said the family is “pleased to have reached a settlement with the city of Atlanta that resolves their civil case.”
“This grieving family has been through so much during this process. Although the children of Mr. Brooks have lost their father, settling the case will undoubtedly assist them with future plans as they come of age,” the statement said.
“While we are disappointed that prosecutors didn’t pursue a criminal case against the officers involved in Mr. Brooks’ death, we continue to hold out hope that the Dept. of Justice will intervene in this matter,” the lawyers added.
