Rayshard Brooks: Officer charged with fatal shooting sues over being fired, as prosecutors ask judge to revoke bond
The police officer fired for fatally shooting Rayshard Brooks is suing Atlanta’s mayor and interim police chief.
Garrett Rolfe says his firing violated his constitutional rights and the city code. He was fired on 13 June, the day after he shot Mr Brooks dead outside a Wendy’s restaurant in the city. He now faces 11 charges, including felony murder.
Meanwhile, prosecutors have asked a judge to revoke his $500,000 bond, granted on 30 June, arguing that Mr Rolfe travelled to Florida at the weekend without permission.
Mr Rolfe’s lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in Fulton County Superior Court. It names Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Acting Chief of Police Rodney Bryant as respondents.
The suit says Mr Rolfe was fired “without an investigation, without proper notice, without a disciplinary hearing, and in direct violation of the municipal code of the City of Atlanta”. Mr Rolfe was dismissed by then-police chief Erika Shields, who resigned the same day.
It also argues that he used deadly force “within the scope and course of his duties” in response to Mr Brooks’ “violent, unlawful, aggressive resistance to a lawful arrest”.
Police body cameras show Mr Rolfe and another officer, Devin Brosnan, having a calm and respectful conversation with Mr Brooks for more than 40 minutes after complaints that the Black man had fallen asleep in his car in a Wendy’s drive-thru lane on 12 June.
When officers told him he’d had too much to drink to be driving and tried to handcuff him, Mr Brooks resisted. A struggle was caught on dash camera video. Mr Brooks grabbed one of their Tasers and fled, firing the Taser at Mr Rolfe as he ran away.
An autopsy found Mr Brooks was shot twice in the back.
The lawsuit notes that other Atlanta police officers who have been charged with crimes, including Mr Brosnan, have remained employed while their criminal charges were pending. Mr Brosnan is charged with aggravated assault and violating his oath, and is also free on bond.
Mr Rolfe “has suffered irreparable injury to his personal and professional reputation as a result of his unlawful dismissal,” the lawsuit says, adding that he “has become a public spectacle and object of ridicule”.
The lawsuit asks a judge to hold a hearing and to order that Mr Rolfe be immediately reinstated with back pay and other benefits.
Atlanta police declined to comment on Wednesday, citing the pending litigation, and the mayor’s office did not respond to a request for comment, according to the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard has asked a judge to revoke Mr Rolfe’s bond. The motion, also filed on Tuesday, says that the bond order “expressly states that the Defendant is only allowed to leave home for medical, legal, or work related obligations”.
Mr Rolfe’s attorneys notified prosecutors on Monday that he had travelled to Daytona Beach, Florida, for a vacation. The motion cites a location report from Mr Rolfe’s ankle monitor confirming that he travelled to Florida on Sunday morning.
Prosecutors argue that Mr Rolfe “has clearly shown that he will not abide by the conditions of bond imposed by the Court.”
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the bond was originally granted as he was not deemed a flight risk. Justin Miller, an attorney representing Mr Brooks’ family commented: “That’s not a flight risk. That’s flight.”
— With reporting from the Associated Press
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