Former Atlanta police officer who shot dead Rayshard Brooks seeks reinstatement and claims his rights were 'grossly violated' when he was fired the day after the killing
The Atlanta police officer who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks in June attempted on Thursday to be reinstated by the force, despite facing murder charges for the killing.
Garrett Rolfe, a six-year veteran of the force, was fired on June 13, the day after Brooks' death. Both men were 27.
Rolfe and his colleague, Officer Devin Brosnan, were called to a Wendy's by customers who said a man was asleep at the wheel, blocking the drive-through.
Brooks spoke to the officers for over half an hour and was cooperative, but failed a sobriety test.
When the officers attempted to arrest him, Brooks snatched a Taser and ran away, turning to face the pursuing officers and fire in their direction. Rolfe then shot him dead.
Lance LoRusso, Rolfe's attorney, said on Thursday at a hearing of the Atlanta Civil Service Board that he was dismissed without following correct procedures, and his client's rights were 'grossly violated'.
Garrett Rolfe, seen in a June 18 booking photo, appeared at a Zoom hearing on Thursday
Rayshard Brooks, 27, was laughing and chatting with the officers for over half an hour
Officer Devin Brosnan is seen on the right, during the fatal encounter with Brooks on June 12
He told the three-person panel that Rolfe was not given enough time to respond to his 'notice of proposed adverse action' - typically a 10-day period - before he was fired.
LoRusso noted that the then-police chief, Erika Shields, did not sign his dismissal form - and resigned her position that same afternoon. She is now head of Louisville Metro Police Department, in Kentucky.
The dismissal form was signed by the assistant chief, Todd Coyt, who testified on Thursday that he believed Rolfe behaved appropriately.
Coyt said he would have tried to keep Brooks closer to the car, to stop him fleeing, but that otherwise the two men 'acted accordingly and were trying to show compassion and did everything they could to calm the situation down.'
Coyt still is with the Atlanta Police Department, as assistant chief.
LoRusso, the lawyer, said that the mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, pressured the police force to fire Rolfe by telling reporters the circumstances of Brooks' death required immediate action.
The shooting of Brooks came less than a month after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a white officer, Derek Chauvin, in Minneapolis, and the country was roiling.
The Wendy's where Brooks was shot was set on fire amid violent protests.
The Wendy's where Brooks was shot and killed was set alight on June 13
Protesters, already on the streets for the George Floyd protests, were enraged by Brooks' killing
A protester is arrested on June 13 amid unrest in Atlanta following Brooks' killing
Rolfe's disciplinary hearing was rescheduled, to accommodate a 5pm press conference called by Lance Bottoms, said Sgt. William Dean, an internal affairs investigator.
Rolfe said he didn't find out about his 'employee response hearing' until 3:45pm, when he was more than an hour away from the city.
Lawrence-Hardy said it was necessary to fire Rolfe swiftly to keep the peace, noting city policy allows for it when an officer's presence 'impairs the effectiveness of others.'
She added: 'Keeping (Rolfe) active would've been extremely disruptive.'
Lance Bottoms then told the press conference: 'It is clear that we do not have another day, another minute, another hour to waste.'
Rolfe himself appeared on the Zoom call, but only answered one question from Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, the attorney representing the police department.
Lance LoRusso is seen in June leaving jail with an officer after Rolfe was initially denied bail
She asked whether he had ever had a conversation with Atlanta Police Union representative Ken Allen regarding the shooting and his firing, and Rolfe said he had, but that he had not authorized Allen to speak for him at his dismissal hearing.
He declined to answer any other questions from her under the Fifth Amendment, and LoRusso replied on Rolfe's behalf.
Lawrence-Hardy said that Shields was entirely within her rights to fire Rolfe, for excessive use of force.
Under the police rules, officers 'are expressly prohibited from the unnecessary or unreasonable use of force against any person or property' and that they 'shall only use that force, which is reasonable and necessary to affect an arrest, prevent an escape, necessarily restrict the movement of a prisoner, defend himself or another from physical assault, or to accomplish other lawful objectives.'
The panel did not issue a ruling, and have set no deadline for their decision.
No date has yet been given for Rolfe's murder trial, and indeed there is as yet no prosecutor after the new district attorney, Fani Willis, who took over in January, sought to recuse her office, citing her predecessor's mishandling of the investigation.
The murder charges will not necessarily impact the decision of the civil service board.
In February, the board reinstated officers Mark Gardner and Ivory Streeter, who were fired last June after video surfaced showing them deploying Tasers on two college students during last summer's protests in downtown Atlanta.
The veteran officers still face a variety of criminal charges, including aggravated assault and simple battery.
No comments