The hits keep coming. Garrett Rolfe the Atlanta Police officer who shot Rayshard Brooks in his back twice has been deemed eligible to return to work.
The Civil Service Board has reversed the termination of officer Garrett Rolfe only on the basis that they were not done in accordance with the Atlanta City Code. It is important to note that the CSB did not make a determination as to whether officer Rolfe violated Atlanta Police Department policies. In light of the CSB’s rulings, APD will conduct an assessment to determine if additional investigative actions are needed.
In Feb. 2021, Brooks’ wife, Tomika Miller was beyond outraged after getting the news she’s been dreading since the police killing of her husband Rayshard Brooks in a Wendy’s parking lot in Atlanta last summer. Miller learned via media reports that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s office would turn over the case to Georgia Attorney General Christopher Carr, rather than try the murder case against Atlanta Police Officer Garrett Rolfe for allegedly killing Brooks, 27, as he attempted to flee the police.
“When I received this message on the media, I fell to my knees and I cried,” Miller said at a press conference.
Willis explained that her predecessor, former District Attorney Paul Howard brought charges against Rolfe and fellow officer Devin Brosnan at the height of civil unrest sparked by Brooks’ killing along with several other high-profile police-involved killings and that his conduct may have violated due process and Georgia Bar Rule 3.8(g).
Rolfe and Brosnan encountered Brooks asleep in a Wendy’s restaurant on the night of July 10, 2020 at University Ave. and Pryor Rd. When they aroused the sleeping, but affable Brooks, they suspected that he may have been drinking and proceeded to place him under arrest. Brooks attempted to evade police and grabbed an inactive taser while running from the two officers. Rolfe maintains that he killed Brooks in self-defense, even though bystander video shows the officers collecting bullet casings before calling for help or rendering assistance to the dying man.
Because officer Rolfe has criminal charges related to the Rayshard Brooks incident, he will remain on administrative leave until those charges are resolved.
