The former Atlanta police officer who was fired and charged in connection with the death of Rayshard Brooks has sued the city.
Garrett Rolfe, 27, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in the Superior Court in Fulton County, Georgia, alleging that the city violated his constitutional rights for firing him “without an investigation, without proper notice, without a disciplinary hearing, and in direct violation of the municipal code of the City of Atlanta,” according to the Daily Beast.
The lawsuit names Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant as defendants. Rolfe seeks a hearing in an effort to be reinstated to the police force with back pay.
Rolfe faces 11 charges in the Brooks case, including felony murder, and he could face life in prison, life without parole, or the death penalty if convicted.
Rolfe joined former officer Devin Brosnan in responding to a call in mid-June about someone who had fallen asleep in their vehicle at an Atlanta Wendy’s drive-thru. After conducting a sobriety test, a tussle ensued, which was caught on video. After Brooks grabbed Brosnan’s Taser and started to run away, he started to turn with the stun gun before Brooks shot him twice in the back. Brooks was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Rolfe was fired a day after the video of Brooks’s death was posted on social media.
Brosnan was placed on administrative leave and faces lesser charges.
