Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Georgia Board of Attorneys, said Officer Garrett Rolfe, who shot and killed Brooks in June 2020, and Officer Devin Brosnan will not face any charges, saying they faced a “dynamic situation.” which was “fast. evolves”. “Given the rapidly changing circumstances, was it objectively reasonable for him to use deadly force? And we conclude that he was,” Skandalakis said of Rolf. The shooting occurred amid heightened tensions and protests nationwide following the death of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer less than three weeks earlier. Sometimes violent protests over Floyd’s death had largely subsided in Atlanta, but Brooks’ killing sparked a new round of protests against police brutality. A family member carries a photo of Rayshard Brooks during his funeral in Atlanta in June 2020. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/The Associated Press) Skandalakis said he believes context is important and acknowledged that encounters between police and the African-American community are sometimes “very volatile,” but said he does not believe race played a role in this case. “This is not one of those cases,” he said. “This is a case where the officers were willing to give Mr. Brooks every benefit of the doubt and, you know, unfortunately, with his actions, that’s what happened.”
Caught on body camera
On June 12, 2020, police responded to reports of a man sleeping in a car in the drive-through lane of a Wendy’s restaurant. Police body camera video shows the two officers having a calm conversation with Brooks for more than 40 minutes. Then, when officers told Brooks he had too much to drink to drive and tried to arrest him, Brooks resisted in a struggle that was caught on dashcam video. Brooks grabbed a Taser from one of the officers and fled, firing it at Rolfe as he ran. Rolf fired his gun and an autopsy determined that Brooks was shot twice in the back. A screen shot from a body camera shows Brooks, right, talking with Rolf in the parking lot of a Wendy’s restaurant in Atlanta in June 2020. (Atlanta Police Department/The Associated Press) Police Chief Erica Shields resigned less than 24 hours after Brooks’ death. Protesters set fire to the Wendy’s restaurant, which was later demolished. Lawyers for the two officers said their actions were justified and both were released on bail. “This was the right and only decision that could be made based on the evidence and Georgia law,” Brosnan’s attorneys, Don Samuel and Amanda Clark Palmer, said in an emailed statement. Brosnan walks after being released from the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta in June 2020. (Brynn Anderson/The Associated Press) An attorney for Rolfe did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Skandalakis and former Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter, who was co-counsel in the case, spent about an hour during the news conference going over the details of the meeting between Brooks and the two officers. Porter showed still images taken from video to break down what happened when things turned violent. Skandalakis called it a “peaceful encounter that suddenly becomes a violent encounter,” saying that once Brooks took the Taser from Brosnan, he assumed an aggressive stance. Porter said Brooks had already overpowered two officers and forced them to the ground, and Rolf acted in accordance with Georgia law and Atlanta Police Department policy given the facts of the situation.
Initially the officer fired
Rolfe was fired a day after the shooting, but his firing was overturned in May 2021 by the Atlanta Public Service Board. The board found that the city failed to follow its own procedures for disciplinary action. Five days after Brooks’ murder, then-Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard held a dramatic press conference to announce charges against Rolfe and Brosnan. Rolf’s charges included felony murder, aggravated assault and violation of his oath of office. Brosnan was charged with aggravated assault and breach of oath. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard speaks at a news conference in Atlanta in June 2020. (Byrnn Anderson/The Associated Press) Skandalakis said Tuesday he will file papers to dismiss those warrants. Two months after announcing the charges, Howard lost the Democratic primary in his bid for re-election. Just weeks after taking office in January 2021, his successor, Fannie Willis, asked Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr to reassign the case. Willis, who has since gained national attention for her investigation into whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to influence the outcome of the 2020 election in Georgia, has raised concerns about Howard’s actions. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks during a news conference in Atlanta in August 2021. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/The Associated Press) Howard’s conduct, “including the use of video evidence in television campaign ads,” may have violated Georgia Bar rules, Willis argued in a letter to Carr. He also noted that Carr had asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to look into whether Howard improperly issued grand jury subpoenas in the Rolfe case. Howard denied wrongdoing. Noah Pines, Rolfe’s attorney, had also filed a motion to disqualify the Fulton County District Attorney from the case. Carr initially declined to reassign the case, but in July 2021 appointed Skandalakis to take over after a Fulton County Superior Court judge found a conflict of interest and granted a request by Willis to recuse her office.
