Civil Service Board Reinstates Atlanta Officer Who Shot Rayshard Brooks

The Atlanta Civil Service Board reinstates Atlanta officer Garrett Rolfe, who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks.

Source: Joe Raedle / Getty

In June of last year, Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe was fired the day after he fatally shot Rayshard Brooks outside of a Wendy’s. In the video footage, we all saw Rayshard fell asleep in Wendy’s drive-thru and seemed to be intoxicated. After remaining calm with the officers, he becomes disgruntled when they try to arrest him after he fully cooperated and wanted to just go somewhere and sober up. After fighting with officers and not being subdued by a taser, he ran from officers and was shot in the back, dying from his injuries.

Almost a year later and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Officer Garrett Rolfe is being reinstated by the Civil Service Board.

“Due to the City’s failure to comply with several provisions of the Code and the information received during witnesses’ testimony, the Board concludes the Appellant was not afforded his right to due process,” the board concluded. “Therefore, the Board grants the Appeal of Garrett Rolfe and revokes his dismissal as an employee of the APD.”

Even with his reinstatement, he won’t be able to return to work due to the circumstances surrounding his bond and not being able to carry a firearm. However, the Atlanta Police Department did confirm he will be placed on administrative leave.

In a statement, the APD further explained their decision.

“The Civil Service Board (CSB) has reversed the termination of officer Garrett Rolfe only on the basis that they were not done in accordance with the Atlanta City Code,” the statement read. “It is important to note that the CSB did not make a determination as to whether officer Rolfe violated Atlanta Police Department policies. In light of the CSB’s rulings, APD will conduct an assessment to determine if additional investigative actions are needed.”

Unfortunately, the outcome of this story sounds erringly similar to what we have witnessed over the last year with a grave number of police brutality victims.