The officers charged with the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks, will not face prosecution over his killing.
Officers Devin Brosnan and Garrett Rolfe, both white, killed Brooks three weeks after George Floyd’s death. The death sparked protests across the city of Atlanta.
Brooks, 27, had fallen asleep in his car at a Wendy’s drive-thru in June 2020. Officers were called out to the restaurant and after failing a sobriety test, officers tried to arrest Brooks and place him in cuffs. Brooks resisted arrest and managed to wrestle one of the officer’s tasers out of his grip. He fired the taser at one of the officers and tried to flee. Instead of using the taser belonging to the second officer to subdue him, Rolfe shot Brooks twice, once in the back and once buttocks.
“It is my conclusion that the use of deadly force was objectively reasonable and that they did not act with criminal intent,” Special prosecutor Pete Skandalakis said.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Attorneys representing Brooks’ shared their disappointment over the decision to drop the charges.
“They got it wrong because a Fulton County jury will not have the opportunity to hear this case and that’s a travesty of justice,” they said.
Skandalakis, who is white, denied that the decision not to prosecute was based on the fact that the officers were white.
“I don’t change the facts based on the color of a person’s skin,” Skandalakis stated. He added: “I do not think this shooting was racially motivated.”
Days after Brooks’ death, Rolfe was charged with felony murder, aggravated assault and violation of his oath. Brosnan was charged with aggravated assault and violating his oath.
In May 2021, Brosnan’s dismissal was overturned by the Atlanta Civil Service Board.
