Garrett Rolfe, the Atlanta Police officer fired after he shot and killed Rayshard Brooks last summer, has been reinstated by the Atlanta Civil Service Board.
He will remain on administrative leave.
The board blamed the decision on the City of Atlanta.
“Due to the City’s failure to comply with several provisions of the Code and the information received during witnesses’ testimony, the Board concludes the Appellant was not afforded his right to due process. Therefore, the Board GRANTS the Appeal of Garrett Rolfe and revokes his dismissal as an employee of the APD,” their decision reads.
Brooks was unarmed and asleep in his vehicle on June 12 in a Wendy’s drive-thru when police arrived to question him. They then forced Brooks to take a breathalyzer exam before attempting to arrest him. Officers claim Brooks resisted arrest and used a Taser on one of the officers before fleeing.
Prosecutors allege that while Brooks lay dying, Rolfe kicked his bleeding body and the other officer, Devin Brosnan, stood on his shoulder.
Attorneys for Brooks’ family, L. Chris Stewart and Justin Miller condemned the board following the announcement.
“We find it mind boggling that our elected officials and the former chief weren’t aware of the proper procedure to fire an officer,” Stewart said. “So now it is questions of, ‘Was that done to temporarily pacify the protesters and the people around the world that were upset?'”
The attorneys said the case was “not taken seriously” by city officials and that there was a “pattern of being ignored” in their endeavors to settle a civil case against the city. They will now be filing a lawsuit against Atlanta. Attorneys added that they expected the city to seek to re-initiate firing Rolfe using the proper protocols.
