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Police Officer Who Shot Rayshard Brooks is Fired

Bodycam Footage of Police Shooting of Rayshard Brooks was Recently Released

The Atlanta Police Officer who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks, Garrett Rolfe, has been fired. The termination occurred just days after the Atlanta Police Department had finally released body-cam footage of the events that lead to the shooting of Brooks.

The Confrontation Began During an Attempted Arrest for DUI

Several days after the fatal incident, which ended with Rayshard Brooks’ death, the Atlanta Police Department released body-cam and dash-cam videos of the events that led to the officers’ discharging their firearms.

The footage shows a near 30-minute conversation between officers Garrett Rolfe, Devin Brosnan and Rayshard Brooks, who was suspected of a DUI. The video begins with Brosnan knocking on Brooks’ car window, who seems to have trouble staying awake. Brooks says he’s alright when asked whether he needs medical attention, before falling asleep once again.

Brosnan then tells fellow officer Rolfe that there was “a pretty good smell of alcoholic beverage coming out of the car,” with the two cops questioning Brooks on what he was doing, how much he drank, etc. Brooks believed that he is on Old Dixie Highway in Forest Park – roughly 10 miles away from the actual location on University Ave in Atlanta, prompting the officers to administer field sobriety tests, which registered a blood alcohol level of .108. The legal limit is .08.

The footage then shows Rolfe attempting to handcuff Brooks, who breaks free and begins wrestling the two officers. The body-cams were knocked off in the struggle between the three men, although the audio shows the policemen warning Brooks to stop fighting. At one point, the man grabs Brosnan’s Taser and points it toward the officers, with the altercation continuing for a few moment before shots are fired.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation summarized the footage, saying that it appears Rolfe fired his service weapon during the out-of-view chase, after Brooks grabbed one of the officer’s Tasers and attempted to flee the scene.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said that the use of deadly force in the case was unjustified, and called for the firing of Rolfe. In addition to the firing of Officer Rolfe, Brosnan was placed on administrative duty.

Saturday also saw the resignation of Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields and a new wave of protests in Atlanta, sparked by Brooks’ death.

Julio Rivera

Julio Rivera is a small business consultant, political activist, writer and Editorial Director for Reactionary Times.  His writing, which is concentrated on politics and cybersecurity, has also been published by websites including Newsmax, The Hill, The Washington Times, LifeZette, The Washington Examiner, American Thinker, The Toronto Sun, PJ Media and many others.

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