In article <t2c4p2$3h4tf$97@news.freedyn.de>
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Two white Atlanta police officers will not face charges after
one shot and killed 27-year-old black man Rayshard Brooks during
an attempted arrest two years ago, the prosecutor assigned to
the case announced Tuesday.

Officer Garrett Rolfe, who fatally shot Brooks in June 2020, and
his partner Officer Devin Brosnan acted reasonably when they
used deadly force, specially appointed prosecutor Pete
Skandalakis said.

�We did not look at this with 20/20 hindsight,� said
Skandalakis, the executive director of the Prosecuting
Attorneys� Council of Georgia. �Given the quickly changing
circumstances, was it objectively reasonable that [Rolfe] used
deadly force? And we conclude it was.�

Brooks began fighting with the officers when they attempted to
arrest him and grabbed one of their tasers, which he fired at
Rolfe as he ran away. Rolfe then fired his gun and shot Brooks
twice in the back, according to dash cam footage and an autopsy
report.

The police shooting happened on June 12, 2020 less than three
weeks after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police
officer and at the height of national unrest over issues of
police brutality and systemic racism. Protests in Atlanta over
Floyd�s death had begun to subside, but Brook�s killing invoked
another wave of demonstrations.

In hindsight, Skandalakis said he does not believe Brook�s race
played a role in his death.

�This isn�t one of those cases,� he said. �This is a case in
which the officers were willing to give Mr. Brooks every benefit
of the doubt and, you know, unfortunately, by his actions, this
is what happened.�

The two officers had a calm 40-minute conversation with Brooks
before the encounter turned violent. They had been called to a
Wendy�s over complaints that a man was sleeping in a car in the
drive-thru lane at the chain restaurant and encountered Brooks.

After conversing for nearly an hour, the officers moved to
arrest Brooks, saying he had too much to drink to be driving a
car. Brooks resisted and a struggle between the three followed,
dash camera video shows.

During the tussle, Brooks was able to grab hold of Brosnan�s
taser. He fired it at Rolfe and ran away. Rolfe returned fire
with his gun and fatally shot Brooks.

Skandalakis called the interaction �a peaceful encounter that
all of a sudden becomes a violent encounter,� saying that once
Brooks grabbed the taser, he assumed an offensive position.

Brooks� death led Rolfe to be fired the following day � though
his termination was overturned in May 2021.

His death also sent instant shock waves through Atlanta, causing
Police Chief Erika Shields to resign less than 24 hours later
and protestors to set fire to the Wendy�s.

Five days later, then-Fulton County District Attorney Paul
Howard put out warrants against Rolfe and his partner Rosnan.
Rolfe�s charges included felony murder.

Critics of the officer�s actions said they shot Brooks as he
retreated and was running in the opposite direction.

A lawyer for Brook�s family said Tuesday that he shouldn�t have
fought against the officers and that they would have been
completely justified in their use of deadly force if they had in
fact used said force during the tussle.

�But they did not. They did not. They chose not to when they
were justified. But they decided to use lethal force as a man
was running away � 19 feet away,� L. Chris Stewart said.

He said a jury should have made the decision on whether to
indict the officers rather than the prosecutor, citing the
complexity of the situation.

The family meanwhile is seeking justice in civil court, where
they have a lawsuit pending.

Lawyers for Rolfe and Brosnan said their clients� actions that
day were justified and praised Skandalaki�s decision against
pursuing charges.

�More than two years after the incident that resulted in
Rayshard Brooks�s death, the State of Georgia has finally
arrived at the right decision: that Officer Brosnan�s arrest was
never supported by any evidence,� Brosnan attorney Amanda Clark
Palmer said in a statement.

She said that Brosnan suffered a concussion as a result of the
altercation with Brooks, who assaulted and tased him.

�Despite his own injuries, he called for and personally rendered
aid to Mr. Brooks after the shooting,� Palmer added.

Skandalakis said Tuesday that he will file paperwork to dismiss
the initial warrants filed by Howard against the two men.

Two months after he announced the charges in a dramatic news
conference, Howard lost his bid for reelection. Fani Willis beat
him in the Democratic primary and took office in January 2021.

Willis asked Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr to reassign the
case, citing concerns about Howard�s actions, just a few weeks
into her term.

After initial opposition, Carr appointed Skandalakis to take
over the case from Willis� office in July 2021.

With Post wires

https://nypost.com/2022/08/24/atlanta-cops-garrett-rolfe-devin-
brosnan-wont-face-charges-in-rayshard-brooks-shooting/