Cops Charged In Killing Of Rayshard Brooks File Civil Rights Lawsuit

The audacity of caucacity!

Source: CHANDAN KHANNA / Getty

It’s not enough to get away with the killing of Rayshard Brooks, a Black man who fell asleep in the parking lot of a Burger King on his way home in June 2020. It’s not even enough to stay on the Atlanta police force after getting fired and charged with murder. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the officers charged with Brooks’ death are claiming they’re the victims whose rights were violated.

Two days before the second anniversary of the fatal shooting, officers Garrett Rolfe and Devin Brosnan filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Atlanta, Fulton County, and several local officials. They executed Brooks for resisting arrest, but now claim swift and severe consequences are an injustice when it happens to them.

“It will be a hard battle,” said their attorney Lance J. LoRusso. “Please send prayers and positive thoughts for justice to prevail.”

Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former District Attorney Paul Howard, former Fulton County Assistant DA Clint Rucker and his investigator Donald Hannah are also defendants. The suit claims Bottoms “violated her oath of office” by deciding to fire Rolfe and handling it publicly.

The suit claims these officials conspired to violate the officers’ rights in a “deliberate, concentrated and malicious effort.” Howard charged Rolfe with 11 counts, including felony murder, and charged Brosnan with aggravated assault. Ironically, the men complain they were falsely arrested and their lives were endangered by the public accusations. They are seeking $75,000 in damages.

What about justice for Rayshard Brooks?

Bodycam footage shows Brooks complied with the officers’ questions and sobriety test. During the hour-long encounter, he told them he just wanted to go home. When they tried to arrest Brooks for a DUI, he fought off Brosnan and ran off with his taser. Rolfe fired three shots and allegedly kicked Brooks while he bled to death from his fatal injuries.

Rolfe was fired the next day, but the Civil Service Board reversed the decision for rushing the process. The killer cop remained on administrative leave since his reinstatement in May of 2021. Brosnan fled the state of Georgia but is still on APD payroll even though he isn’t on active duty.

“Justice is moving too slowly,” attorney Gerald Griggs told 46 News about waiting for new charges from against the officers from special prosecutor Pete Skandalakis.

“We feel like something happened and it’s up to a jury to determine what happened, but we watched the tape. We saw what we believed happened. Again, a judge found probable cause to issue an arrest warrant, so we hope that they will take the appropriate steps under Title 17 and Title 16 of the official code of Georgia and proceed with the criminal process,” the Georgia NAACP member said.

Skandalakis says he still needs more reports from experts before he decides whether to press charges.

“We expect to have those within a few days. As soon we get those that will enable us to decide a course of action to take on the case,” the executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia said. “My team will choose the best option based on evidence and the law.”

A memorial for the 2-year anniversary of Rayshard’s death will take place on Sunday, June 12, 2022.