An Atlanta detective assigned to the Rayshard Brooks case said he would have brought 10 charges against the 27-year-old if he had not been fatally shot by police.
Brooks died on June 12 after police responded to reports of a man asleep in a Wendy’s drive-thru lane. Former officers Garrett Rolfe and Devin Brosnan responded to the call, found Brooks in his car, and administered a sobriety test, which he failed. The officers attempted to bring Brooks into custody, but he resisted arrest and struggled with the officers to obtain a police Taser. Video showed Brooks aiming the Taser toward the officers. Rolfe then fired his gun three times, hitting and killing Brooks.
The Atlanta Police Department homicide detective assigned to the case, Al Hogan, sided with Rolfe in a “to whom it may concern letter” attached to a bond motion filing for the fired officer last week.
“Atlanta PD detective assigned to the [Rayshard Brooks] investigation says he would have charged Brooks — not Rolfe — with 10 counts, including multiple felonies,” Philip Holloway, a legal analyst for WSB Radio, posted the letter on Twitter Monday.
READ IT: #AtlantaPD detective assigned to the #RayshardBrooks investigation says he would have charged Brooks – not Rolfe – with 10 counts, including multiple felonies. Usually law enforcement are witnesses for the state but this is from a defense filing. pic.twitter.com/huj903b7Tu
— Philip Holloway ⚖️✈️ (@PhilHollowayEsq) June 29, 2020
“I am the Homicide/MIT (Major Incident Team) investigator that was assigned the case involving Officers Rolfe and [Devin] Bronson regarding their interaction with Rashard (sic) Brooks,” Hogan wrote in the letter. “I was calling in from my home shortly after the incident occurred and began my investigation upon my arrival to the scene. I gathered all the audio and video evidence as well as interviewed witnesses that would speak with me on scene.”
“My investigation showed that [Rayshard] Brooks’s behavior did in fact warrant several federal charges, but before I was able to pursue those charges, I was informed that [Rayshard] Brooks had died, negating the necessity for that portion of my investigation,” he said.
Hogan then listed the 10 charges he would have brought against Brooks, including:
- DUI/DUI Less Safe, a violation of OCGA 40-6-391.
- Felony Obstruction, two counts, a violation of OCGA 16-10-24.
- Aggravated Assault against a Police Officer, two counts, a violation of OCGA 16-5-21.
- Battery against a Police Officer, two counts, a violation of OCGA 16-5-23.1.
- Theft by Taking, a violation of OCGA 16-8-2.
- Removal of Weapon from a Public Official, a violation of 16-10-33.
- Robbery, a violation of OCGA 16-8-40.1.
Rolfe faces 11 charges, including felony murder, and could face life in prison, life without parole, or the death penalty if convicted, District Attorney Paul Howard Jr. said Wednesday. Officer Devin Brosnan, who was also on the scene when Brooks was shot, faces an aggravated assault charge.
