Attorney For Officer Devin Brosnan Debunks Claim Client Is State Witness, Unloads On D.A. Paul Howard

Don Samuel, attorney for Atlanta Police officer Devin Brosnan, debunked reports on Wednesday that his client had agreed to become a state witness and slammed Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard for his actions in the case.

“District Attorney Paul Howard said he is charging former Officer Garrett Rolfe with 11 counts, including felony murder and aggravated assault, criminal damage to property and violations to his oath of office,” WSB-TV reported. “Officer Devin Brosnan is being charged with aggravated assault and two violations of oath of office.”

Amid reports that Brosnan was acting as a state’s witness, his attorney released a statement detailing his role in the Rayshard Brooks case and emphatically stating that he “has NOT agreed to be a ‘state’s witness’.” He also issued a scathing rebuke of Howard’s “rush to misjudgment.” Samuel’s statement reads in part:

To be clear – Devin is cooperating with the Fulton County District Attorney’s investigation. He met with the assistant district attorney and investigator yesterday and answered their questions. He turned over his phone. He is in the process of providing medical records and photographs of his injuries. He has NOT agreed to be a “state’s witness” or to testify in any court hearing or to plead guilty to any charge. The decision to initiate charges by the Fulton County DA’s office is irrational and obviously based on factors which should have nothing to do with the proper administration of justice.

This was not a rush to judgment. This was a rush to misjudgment. Shame on the District Attorney for this abuse of his charging power. Shame on the District Attorney for not honoring his oath to uphold the constitution. Shame on the District Attorney for this rush to misjudgment.

Samuel also said in the statement that Brooks “used” the taser that he took from Brosnan against the officer as he resisted arrest and later ran from the scene. Samuel notes that Brosnan sustained “burns from the taser.” Samuel states that when Brooks began to violently resist arrest, Brosnan’s head hit the asphalt parking lot, and he was later “diagnosed with a concussion.”

In an interview with CNN, Samuel said, “Officer Brosnan has not agreed to testify. He has not agreed to plead guilty. He honestly told the DA’s office everything that happened during a lengthy interview yesterday. He will continue to tell the DA or the GBI, or any other investigator what happened. But he is absolutely not guilty of any crime and will not plead guilty and has not agreed to be a ‘state’s witness.’”

“The decision to initiate charges by the Fulton County DA’s office is irrational and obviously based on factors which should have nothing to do with the proper administration of justice,” Samuel said in an apparent reference to the politically charged atmosphere surrounding current law enforcement matters. “This was not a rush to judgment. This was a rush to misjudgment.”

Samuel’s statement comes after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said on Wednesday that its investigation into the incident was not over and that it was not consulted about the charges.

Attorney Don Samuel’s full statement regarding his client, officer Devin Brosnan:

“Devin Brosnan first wants to extend his condolences to the family of Rayshard Brooks. To his parents, his wife, his children, his extended family, his friends. It is clear that Mr. Brooks was greatly loved by many people.

“When Devin initially responded to the scene he thought that Mr. Brooks had had a long day or possibly had a medical condition. As he responded to the call he did not, at the time, have any intention of arresting Mr. Brooks. Devin’s only intention was to investigate and get further information about the situation. During his encounter with Mr. Brooks, Devin treated him with respect, dignity, and concern for Mr. Brooks’s safety as well as the safety of the people nearby.

“At the beginning of Devin’s interaction with Rayshard Brooks, Mr. Brooks was polite and affable. Mr. Brooks appeared to be impaired – either from a medical condition or possibly from alcohol. That is why Devin called for an officer specially trained in roadside evaluation to respond to the scene. Once the other officer responded – Officer Rolfe – it became Rolfe’s investigation. Devin was there to standby, to observe and assist if necessary. During Rolfe’s investigation it was apparent that Mr. Brooks was impaired; he was disoriented as to place and had trouble following Officer Rolfe’s questions.

“Various videos from that evening have been widely circulated. Devin did not know that Officer Rolfe was going to arrest Mr. Brooks; Officer Rolfe did not communicate that to Devin verbally or otherwise. When Devin saw Officer Rolfe bring Mr. Brooks’s hands behind his back, Devin followed his training and moved in to assist Officer Rolfe. At that time, a struggle between Mr. Brooks and the officers started.

“During that struggle, Devin pulled out his taser and warned Mr. Brooks to stop resisting or he would be tased. Devin never actually deployed his taser. Instead, Mr. Brooks took his taser from him and Mr. Brooks used it against Devin. Devin hit his head hard on the asphalt parking lot. He later received medical treatment and was diagnosed with a concussion at Grady. Devin also has burns from the taser, and other injuries. To be clear, at no time did Devin pull out his firearm.

“After Mr. Brooks ran away, with Officer Rolfe in pursuit, Devin got up and followed. You can tell from the video that he is limping. What you can’t tell is that he was disoriented from the head injury. After Mr. Brooks was shot, Devin ran to the location where Mr. Brooks had fallen. Within a minute – less than a minute – Rolfe runs back to his car to get medical equipment, at the same time another officer arrives on scene. You can see on the video – at time stamp 23:24:59 – the officers tried to stabilize Mr. Brooks and gave first aid. Devin did what he could to save Mr. Brooks.

“To be clear – Devin is cooperating with the Fulton County District Attorney’s investigation. He met with the assistant district attorney and investigator yesterday and answered their questions. He turned over his phone. He is in the process of providing medical records and photographs of his injuries. He has NOT agreed to be a “state’s witness” or to testify in any court hearing or to plead guilty to any charge. The decision to initiate charges by the Fulton County DA’s office is irrational and obviously based on factors which should have nothing to do with the proper administration of justice.

“This was not a rush to judgment. This was a rush to misjudgment. Shame on the District Attorney for this abuse of his charging power. Shame on the District Attorney for not honoring his oath to uphold the constitution. Shame on the District Attorney for this rush to misjudgment.”