Prosecutor to dismiss charges against Atlanta police officers involved in fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks

One dead, two injured in Atlanta shootings 1:07 (CNN) — A Georgia special prosecutor announced Tuesday that murder and assault charges against two Atlanta police officers involved in the deadly shooting of Rayshard Brooks in June 2019 will be dismissed. 2020, alleging that officers acted reasonably in response to a deadly threat. “Both acted as reasonable agents under the facts and circumstances of that night’s events,” said special prosecutor Peter Skandalakis. “Both acted in accordance with well-established law and were justified in their use of force in relation to the situation.” Brooks, a 27-year-old black man, was shot to death outside a Wendy’s restaurant after he failed a field sobriety test and got into a fight with two officers who tried to arrest him. During the struggle, Brooks overpowered officers Garrett Rolfe and Devin Brosnan, took a Taser from Brosnan and fled, according to prosecutors. As he fled, he turned and fired the stolen Taser at Rolfe, who then shot Brooks twice, in the back and buttocks, killing him, prosecutors said. The incident was captured on video, including body camera footage, surveillance video of Wendy, and cell phone video from a witness. Former Gwinnett County District Attorney Daniel Porter provided video analysis at Tuesday’s news conference. He explained that Georgia officers are allowed to use deadly force when confronted with a deadly weapon, including a Taser, so prosecutors determined the shooting was lawful. “Was it objectively reasonable that (Rolfe) could use deadly force? We determined that he was,” Skandalakis said. The fatal shooting of Brooks — less than three weeks after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis — sparked protests in Atlanta and beyond amid national demonstrations over police brutality and racial injustice. In Atlanta, the Wendy’s restaurant was burned down, hundreds blocked a major interstate highway, authorities fired tear gas, and the police chief resigned. Five days after the shooting, then-Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced charges against Rolfe with felony murder, aggravated assault, oath of office violations, and criminal damage to property. Brosnan was charged with aggravated assault and violating his oath. Howard lost his re-election bid and the case ultimately ended up in the hands of Skandalakis, who said Tuesday that he plans to file an administrative dismissal to drop the charges. Skandalakis said he did not believe the shooting was racially motivated and compared it to the murders of Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, a black man killed by armed residents of Georgia in 2020. “This was not that kind of case. This was not an Ahmaud Arbery being chased by armed citizens. This was not a George Floyd who was on the ground with an officer kneeling on his neck,” Skandalakis said. “This is not that case. These facts are distinguishable and distinct from what happened in those two situations.” Attorneys for Rolfe and Brosnan have defended their actions that night. CNN has reached out to attorneys for the Brooks estate and attorneys for Brosnan and Rolfe for comment. Both officers remain on administrative leave with the Atlanta Police Department (APD) and will undergo recertification and training, the department said in a statement. “We have faith in the criminal justice system and respect the special counsel’s decision in this case,” the department said. The initial prosecutor faced accusations of acting for political purposes The initial charges against Rolfe and Brosnan came before the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) completed its investigation and led to accusations that Howard—who had an ongoing campaign for another term—acted for political gain. At the time, Howard called the allegations “ridiculous” and said the case would be the office’s 40th of him charging a police officer, nine of which involved the death of someone at the hands of police. The charges were followed by days in which a large number of Atlanta officers did not show up for work due to illness. Howard, who campaigned for the charges in the Brooks case, lost the district attorney election to Fani Willis, who was later refused to prosecute the case. In July 2021, state Attorney General Chris Carr appointed Skandalakis, executive director of the Georgia Council of State Attorneys, to oversee the case. “My agency and I will conduct a thorough review of the facts and circumstances surrounding this case and, as with any case that comes before us, we will proceed where the evidence leads,” Skandalakis said at the time. Rolfe’s attorneys have previously argued that the officer was legally justified and acting in self-defense when he shot and killed Brooks. In May 2021, the Atlanta Civil Service Board ruled that Rolfe was wrongfully terminated and he was reinstated. APD at the time said the board’s decision said the firing process “was not conducted in accordance with the Atlanta City Code” and that Rolfe would remain on administrative leave until the criminal charges against him were resolved. . How the shooting happened Rayshard Brooks On the day Brooks was shot, police were responding to reports that a man was asleep in his vehicle at the Wendy’s drive-thru, according to the GBI. When Brosnan arrived, Brooks was apparently asleep behind the wheel, and Brosnan knocked on the window to wake him up. Brosnan then asked if he had been drinking. Brooks told the officer he just had a drink, the body camera shows. A few minutes later, Rolfe arrived on the scene and used a breathalyzer on Brooks. When Rolfe tried to handcuff Brooks, a struggle ensued. Brooks struggled with officers and grabbed Brosnan’s Taser, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Another video shot by a bystander begins shortly after the fight began and shows Brooks grabbing the Taser and breaking free. As Brooks ran from the officers, he turned around and appears to point the Taser at Rolfe, who drew his gun and fired, shooting Brooks twice. Prosecutors said Tuesday that video analysis determined that Brooks fired the Taser at Rolfe, who fired the gun at him 1.1 seconds later. Part of the question about the legality of the shooting was based on the potential lethality of the Taser. The Atlanta Police Policy Manual says that an officer may use deadly force when: “He or she reasonably believes that the suspect possesses a deadly weapon or any object, device, or instrument that, when used offensively against a person, is likely to or actually results in serious bodily injury and when he or she reasonably believes that the suspect poses an immediate threat of serious bodily injury to the officer or others.” The Taser is designed to be less lethal than a firearm, but it can be fatal in some circumstances. Amnesty International said that more than 500 people have died in the US “after receiving electric shocks with a Taser during arrest or while in jail,” according to a CNN story in 2015. Although Taser, the company, said that the death count directly attributed to Taser is more like 60. CNN’s Devon M. Sayers, Jason Morris and Dakin Andone contributed to this report.