On the night of June 12, 2020, Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old man with an African American origin, was fatally shot by Atlanta’s police department. The police officer who shot him is Garret Rolfe. It is said that a fellow officer had responded to a complaint made that Brooks was asleep in a car that was blocking a drive-through lane to a local restaurant. The police officers arrived at the scene and after the breathalyzer exam indicated that Brooks’s blood-alcohol content was above the legal limit for driving. Officer Rolfe and Brosnan began to handcuff Brooks.
Brooks made attempts to wrestle with the officers, and he got hold of Brosnan’s taser, punched Rolfe, and run away. Rolfe pursued him, and Brooks half-turned and fired the taser toward Rolfe, who then shot Brooks twice from behind while the third bullet shot struck an occupied car. Rayshard Brooks died in the hospital after surgery.
After the incident, footage of all the happenings recorded by the restaurant’s security system, an officer’s body cam, and a witness’s phone was widely broadcast. Police Chief Erica Shield’s resigned one day later, and on that very day, Rolfe was fired while officer Brosnan was placed on administrative duty.
Rolfe was charged with felony murder and ten other offenses while Brosnan was charged with aggravated assault and two other violations of oath.
