Comment More than two years after the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks sparked protests and heightened scrutiny of the Atlanta Police Department, a state-appointed prosecutor announced Tuesday that neither officer involved will face charges. Special Prosecutor Pete Skandalakis said that after reviewing images from police body cameras and area security footage, investigators concluded that the officers had “committed no crime.” “This case of Devin Brosnan and Garrett Rolfe is not like the case of George Floyd,” he said. “This is not a case where an officer knelt over a prone suspect for nine minutes. It’s not like that. Nor is it like the Ahmaud Arbery case, where armed citizens chased a person through a neighborhood. This case, its facts, are different.” However, he added: “You can’t ignore the fact that this was all happening around the same time.” Brooks, 27, was shot and killed on the night of June 12, 2020, during the racial justice protests that followed the killing of Floyd in Minneapolis. Video soon emerged showing Brooks running when he was shot by Rolf, an officer. The day after the shooting, Atlanta Police Chief Erica Shields resigned, Rolfe was fired, and Brosnan, another officer on the scene, retired from street patrols. Four days later, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced that Rolfe had been charged with felony murder, aggravated assault and other offenses, while Brosnan was charged with aggravated assault and other related charges. Soon after, several Atlanta police officers called in sick to protest the decision to charge the men. But in August 2020, Howard was defeated in his bid for re-election and his replacement, Fanny Willis, accused him of tarnishing the case by bringing charges before the investigation was completed. Critics have accused Howard of pursuing the case in an attempt to boost his re-election chances. Willis asked the Georgia attorney general’s office to take over the case. Attorney General Chris Carr chose Scandalakis to banish it. Rolfe’s disciplinary record showed a history of citizen complaints and that he had previously been disciplined for issues including a use of force incident. In May 2021, the Atlanta Public Service Board reinstated Rolfe to the Atlanta Police Department, concluding that he “was not afforded his right to due process.” Andre Dickens, Atlanta’s first-year black mayor, issued a statement saying he respects the special counsel’s work but feels for the Brooks family. “My heart continues to ache for the family of Rayshard Brooks,” she said. “He was a father whose absence will forever be felt in our community.” Atlanta City Council member Antonio Lewis, who represents the area where the shootings took place, spoke out against the decision. “Seeing the charges dismissed really hurts me,” Lewis said in a statement. “We must continue to work to keep our neighborhoods safe, but we must also hold police accountable.” Gerald Griggs, president of the Georgia NAACP, also issued a statement critical of the prosecutor’s decision. Griggs said the decision on whether to press charges should have been made by a grand jury. “We have two different prosecutors with two different opinions, so the case needs to be presented to a grand jury for the citizens of Fulton County to decide,” Griggs said. “As the Georgia NAACP, we take civil rights very seriously, and 2020 has changed the conversation about social justice, so citizens should determine what police accountability looks like.” The Atlanta Police Department released a statement saying the two White officers involved in the shooting, who are on administrative duty, will undergo training to re-certify for street patrol. The incident began when Atlanta Officer Brosnan first approached Brooks’ car, in which Brooks was sleeping, because it was blocking the drive-thru lane of a Wendy’s in southwest Atlanta. Rolfe arrived minutes later and administered a field sobriety test on Brooks that determined his blood-alcohol content was above the legal limit, according to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation report. As Brosnan and Rolfe tried to get Brooks in custody, a fight broke out between the three men. Video of the fight showed Brooks grabbing Brosnan’s Taser and trying to run away. Rolf ran after Brooks and Brooks turned and fired the Taser at Rolf. Rolfe then fired three shots at Brooks. Skandalakis said investigators concluded no crime had been committed after viewing the video and concluded that Rolfe had to make a split-second life-or-death decision. “We don’t see it with 20/20 hindsight,” he said. “We’re looking at what information the officers had in a dynamic, fast-moving situation.” He added that he did not believe the shooting was racially motivated. “Black lives matter,” he said. “I have spent my entire career representing black victims of crime. I understand that encounters between the police and the African-American community are very volatile at times. But I would ask them to look at the facts of this case, and this is not one of those cases.” Justin Miller, one of the attorneys representing the Brooks family in a separate civil lawsuit against the city and the officers, dismissed the idea that race had nothing to do with what happened that night. “If you think about Officer Rolf, look where he’s from,” Miller said. “Has she ever met someone like Rayshard Brooks before? Probably not. So there’s a racial element any time you send an officer who’s not trained and not familiar with the community.” Dickens said Tuesday that the Atlanta department has improved training on how to de-escalate confrontations after a shooting. “Through working with community advocates, the Atlanta City Council, the Atlanta Police Department and others, we listened and proactively moved forward with important reforms,” he said. “We continually invest in training to ensure our officers are the most qualified and capable force in the country.” Rolfe’s lawyers said their client would not make a statement and that they believed Skandalakis’ decision was the right one. “Officer Rolfe is grateful for the support he has received from the community, members of the Atlanta Police Department, and from citizens and law enforcement across the United States,” attorneys Noah H. Pines, Bill Thomas and Lance LoRusso. “He hopes that any protests will remain peaceful.” L. Chris Stewart, another attorney representing the Brooks family, said Brooks’ widow, Tomika Miller, was awaiting the decision but was still heartbroken. Stewart said they are focused on getting justice for the family with the civil suit. “Today, we will take our fight to the civil court because that seems to be the only place where we can get justice,” he said.
