Crime & Public Safety

No charges for Atlanta officers in fatal shooting

Aug 23, 2022

More than two years after Rayshard Brooks was fatally shot by Atlanta police, the case against the two officers involved has been dropped.

The special prosecutor overseeing the case announced Tuesday afternoon that he would not pursue charges against Officers Garrett Rolfe and Devin Brosnan. Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, shared the decision during an afternoon news conference in Morrow attended by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Former Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter shows portions of the surveillance video from the night of Rayshard Brooks' fatal shooting at a news conference Tuesday. Porter, at the request of special prosecutor Pete Skandalakis, reviewed the case against the two Atlanta police officers charged in Brooks' death.
Former Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter shows portions of the surveillance video from the night of Rayshard Brooks' fatal shooting at a news conference Tuesday. Porter, at the request of special prosecutor Pete Skandalakis, reviewed the case against the two Atlanta police officers charged in Brooks' death.

“Based on the facts and circumstances confronting Officer Rolfe and Officer Brosnan in this case, it is my conclusion the use of deadly force was objectively reasonable and that they did not act with criminal intent,” said Danny Porter, a longtime prosecutor and former Gwinnett County district attorney asked by Skandalakis to review the case.

Brooks, 27, was shot and killed June 12, 2020, after Rolfe and Brosnan tried to arrest him in the parking lot of a south Atlanta Wendy’s. The shooting set off protests at the restaurant, which was burned to the ground the following day.

Read the full story here.

About the Author

Henri Hollis is a restaurant critic and food reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he covers Atlanta’s restaurants, chefs and dining culture. As part of the AJC’s Food & Dining team, he reviews new restaurants, reports on industry trends and explores metro Atlanta’s culinary scene through the neighborhoods and people that shape it.

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