Charging Decision Against Atlanta Cop Who Fatally Shot Rayshard Brooks Could Come This Week, DA Says

The decision on whether or not to charge the Atlanta police officer who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks could come as soon as this week, the Fulton County District Attorney said. Police were called to a Wendy's restaurant Friday night after receiving complaints that Brooks, 27, had fallen asleep in the drive-through and was blocking traffic. 

When police tried to arrest Brooks after he failed a breathalyzer test, he resisted, according to investigators. Body cam footage captured a struggle between the two parties, in which Brooks grabbed an officer’s taser and started to run away.

Brooks then appears to point the taser in the officers’ direction before Officer Garrett Rolfe shot at him three times. An autopsy revealed Brooks was shot twice in the back and died from organ damage and blood loss. The coroner ruled his manner of death a homicide. 

The shooting prompted Rolfe’s firing, along with a wave of new protests in Atlanta and criticism from officials, including the Atlanta mayor, that officer's use of deadly force was not justified. 

There were tears and raw emotion as Brooks’ distraught relatives spoke out at a press conference Monday.

“I can never get my husband back. I can never get my best friend. I can never tell my daughter, ‘Oh, he’s coming to take you skating or swimming lessons,‘” Brooks’ widow Tamika said.

Protesters gathered peacefully in Atlanta Monday, but the Wendy’s where the shooting occurred was torched over the weekend. Police are looking for a mystery white woman caught on camera appearing to start the fire.

RELATED STORIES