Atlanta officer charged with murder in Rayshard Brooks killing as colleague agrees to testify against him
The Atlanta police officer who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks in the car park of a fast-food restaurant has been charged with murder and a warrant issued for his arrest.
Officer Garrett Rolfe, who fired the fatal shots, faces 11 charges, including felony murder and one for aggravated assault, after video footage appeared to show him kicking Mr Brooks and standing on his shoulders as he lay dying.
Fellow officer Devin Brosnan, who was also on scene and has been put on administrative leave, has been charged with three counts, including a failure to administer timely medical assistance.
Paul Howard, Fulton County District Attorney, revealed in a press conference announcing the charges on Wednesday that Mr Brosnan, 26, has agreed to testify against Mr Rolfe, 27.
Mr Brooks, who is black, was shot on Friday night after staff at a Wendy’s restaurant called police when they found him sleeping in his car, blocking a drive-through lane.
The 27-year-old father-of-three attempted to flee officers Rolfe and Brosnan as they tried to arrest Mr Brooks after he failed a sobriety test. Mr Brooks stole a Taser from one of the officers and attempted to fire it in their direction as he ran.
He was shot twice in the back. An autopsy ruled his death as homicide.
"Mr Brooks was running away at the time the shot was fired," Mr Howard told reporters. "We concluded that, at the time that Mr Brooks was shot, he did not pose an immediate threat of death or serious physical injury to the officers."
Mr Brooks’ killing reignited protests in Atlanta, Georgia, after days of worldwide demonstrations against racism and police brutality prompted by the death of George Floyd, an African American, in Minneapolis police custody on May 25.
Family members, who are preparing for his funeral, say the two officers should have continued to pursue him as he ran away instead of shooting him.
His widow, Tomika Miller, had called for the officers to be jailed. “If it was my husband who shot them, he would be in jail,” she said. “He would be doing a life sentence. They need to be put away.”
Matt Whitaker, former Acting Attorney General, said that he finds it difficult to see how the fatal shooting of Mr Brooks was "justified."
“The community of Atlanta is, obviously, going to put a lot of pressure for justice in Mr. Brooks' case,” Mr Whitaker said. “We’ve all seen the video. We’ve all seen what happened and, I think, it is hard to believe that this killing was justified given all of the video evidence that we have all seen until this point."
