The Atlanta police officer who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks more than two years ago will not face any charges, according to a specially appointed prosecutor who made the decision on Tuesday.
The Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia’s executive director, Pete Skandalakis, said that he will not press charges against Garrett Rolfe, the White cop who fatally shot the 27-year-old Black man in June 2020.
After a court authorised the removal of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office, Skandalakis was chosen to take over the case last year. Willis had expressed reservations about the conduct of her predecessor, Paul Howard, who less than a week after the shooting issued a murder charge against Rolfe.
On June 12, 2020, police were called in response to reports of a guy dozing off in a vehicle in the Wendy’s drive-thru lane. The two policemen may be seen on body camera footage conversing calmly with Brooks for more than 40 minutes.
When the cops sought to arrest Brooks after telling him he had consumed too much alcohol to be driving, Brooks resisted and the fight was captured on dashcam footage.
While running away, Brooks took a Taser from one of the police and fired it at Rolfe. An autopsy revealed that Brooks had been hit twice in the back by the bullets Rolfe had fired.
According to the attorneys for the two policemen, their actions were appropriate, and both were granted bail releases.
Following the killing of George Floyd at the knee of a police officer in Minneapolis less than three weeks before, there were increased national tensions and demonstrations at the time of the shooting.
Atlanta’s sometimes violent anti-police brutality rallies had mostly ceased after Floyd’s death, but Brooks’ murder sparked fresh demonstrations. Less than 24 hours after Brooks’ death, police chief Erika Shields announced her resignation.
The Wendy’s restaurant was set on fire by protesters and eventually destroyed.
A day after the incident, Rolfe was dismissed, but the Atlanta Civil Service Board reversed that decision in May 2021. The board concluded that the city did not adhere to its own disciplinary processes.
Paul Howard, the district attorney for Fulton County at the time Brooks was slain, announced charges against Rolfe and Brosnan during a dramatic press conference five days later.
Felony murder, violent violence, and breaking his oath were among the allegations brought against Rolfe. Charges of serious violence and breaking his oath were brought against Brosnan.
Two months later, Howard’s reelection campaign failed in the Democratic primary. His successor, Fani Willis, urged Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr to reassign the case only a few weeks after assuming office in January 2021.
Willis expressed worries about Howard’s behaviour. Willis has now attracted national prominence for her inquiry into whether former President Donald Trump and others attempted to improperly influence the result of the 2020 election in Georgia.
Willis claimed in a letter to Carr that Howard’s actions, “including exploiting video evidence in campaign television advertising,” could have broken Georgia Bar standards.
She also said that Howard may have inappropriately issued grand jury subpoenas in the Rolfe case after Carr requested that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation investigate. Howard has said he did nothing wrong.
Additionally, Rolfe’s lawyer Noah Pines submitted a petition to exclude the Fulton County district attorney’s office from the case.
After Chief Judge Christopher Brasher of the Fulton County Superior Court determined that there was a conflict of interest and approved a motion by Willis to recuse her office, Carr finally appointed Skandalakis to take up the case in July 2021. Initially, Carr had refused to transfer the case.