Fired Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe charged with felony murder in shooting death of Rayshard Brooks

ATLANTA — The charges filed Wednesday against the Atlanta police officers involved in the confrontation that led to Rayshard Brooks' death may bring a sense of validation to the thousands clamoring for justice and racial equality in the U.S. – as long as a conviction is attained.

Compared with the death of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police on May 25, which prompted global demonstrations against police brutality and racial bias, the fatal shooting of Brooks by Officer Garrett Rolfe was different.

Brooks, after all, had resisted arrest, punched at least one of the officers and made off with a Taser, which he aimed at Rolfe and, conceivably, could have discharged on someone else at the parking lot where the incident occurred Friday night outside a Wendy's restaurant.

Rayshard Brooks died after a police officer shot him: What happens now?

Relying partly on eight video recordings — from body, dash and surveillance cameras, as well as some from witnesses — Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard charged Rolfe with 11 counts, including felony murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

If convicted, Rolfe is facing the possibility of the death penalty or life in prison.

“We’ve concluded at the time that Mr. Brooks was shot that he did not pose an immediate threat of death,” Howard said.

Howard also charged Officer Devin Brosnan, who was also involved in the attempt to arrest Brooks but not in the shooting, with aggravated assault and two counts of violating his oath.

Some who have been protesting in Atlanta since the shooting found a measure of justice in Wednesday's announcement. Sean Price was among them.

"This is a big step and I was very excited when I heard the news," Price said. "Just because he was charged with murder doesn't mean they're going to be convicted for murder ... I just hope that peace comes from this and nobody else has to die. I hope that this makes other officers think twice before carelessly taking somebody's life."

Jessi Griffin, who owns a hair salon, said the shooting of Brooks was not justified.

"He was running away with a non-deadly weapon. It’s very clear this was a murder," Griffin said. "There were multiple other ways to handle this situation, and there would’ve been time to decide if Rolfe hadn’t murdered him."

She added, "The whole system needs to be rebuilt from the ground up."

Kalfani Ture, an assistant professor of criminal justice at Quinnipiac University who worked in law enforcement in the Atlanta metropolitan area for five years, said the charges must be followed by a conviction for those who are demanding justice to believe it has been served.

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Ture offered a reminder of the 1992 acquittal of the four Los Angeles police officers caught on video beating black motorist Rodney King, a verdict that led to days of riots.

“Pyrrhic victories are really dangerous, because on the surface they appear to advance the cause of justice, but when they fall apart, they only exacerbate the angst and the frustration and the outright anger people have,'' Ture said.

"Atlanta has found a way to ameliorate only temporarily this anger and frustration, but they better put forth a capable prosecution. Otherwise, it’s going to reignite more baser emotions.’’

Some of the details revealed at a Wednesday news conference announcing the charges are likely to inflame tensions if Rolfe is not convicted.

Howard said that rather than provide timely medical attention to Brooks after the shooting, as required by city policy, Rolfe kicked Brooks as he lay on the ground and Brosnan stood on the dying man's shoulder.

Brooks' cordial and cooperative demeanor before the attempt to arrest him played a major role in the determination to present the charges, Howard said.

"We concluded and considered as one of our important considerations that Mr. Brooks never presented himself as a threat,'' Howard said. "For 41 minutes and 17 seconds (before Rolfe tried to handcuff him), he followed their instruction, he answered the questions.''

The DA also pointed out that Rolfe and Brosnan did not tell Brooks he was being arrested for driving under the influence, as mandated by the Atlanta Police Department in those situations.

'Lawful but awful': Police had better options than lethal force, experts say

Brooks was fleeing when he was shot, the video shows. Brooks' death was ruled a homicide Sunday, the result of "two gunshot wounds of his back that created organ injuries and blood loss," the Fulton County Medical Examiner's office said in a release.

Howard noted that shooting at a fleeing suspect goes against Atlanta's policies.

"The city of Atlanta says you cannot even fire a Taser at someone who's running away,'' Howard said, "so you certainly can't fire a handgun at someone who's running away.''

What we know: Timeline of Brooks' death, protests and fallout from incident at Wendy's

Contributing: Jordan Culver, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rayshard Brooks: Garrett Rolfe, ex-Atlanta officer, charged in death