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A specially appointed prosecutor said he would not bring any charges against the Atlanta police officer who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks more than two years ago.
Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Georgia Board of Attorneys, announced he would not file charges against Garrett Rolfe, the white police officer who shot and killed the 27-year-old black man in June 2020 accusation.
Mr. Scandalakis was named to take over the case last year after a judge allowed Fulton County District Attorney Fanny Willis to recuse himself and her office.
Ms Willis had raised concerns about the actions of her predecessor Paul Howard, who announced murder charges against Mr Rolfe less than a week after the shooting.
Police responded on June 12, 2020 to a complaint of a man sleeping in his car in the drive-thru drive of Wendy’s Restaurant.
Police body camera video shows the two officers having a quiet conversation with Mr Brooks for more than 40 minutes.
Then, when police told Mr Brooks he was drinking too much to drive and tried to arrest him, Mr Brooks refused, in a struggle captured on dashcam video.
Mr Brooks grabbed a Taser from one of the officers and fled, shooting Mr Rolfe as he ran.
Mr Rolfe opened fire and an autopsy report found Mr Brooks had been shot twice in the back.
Lawyers for the two officers said their actions were justified and both were released on bail.
The shooting comes less than three weeks after the death of George Floyd at the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, as tensions and protests intensified across the country.
The sometimes violent protests over Floyd’s death have largely subsided in Atlanta, but Brooks’ killing has sparked a new wave of demonstrations against police brutality.
Police Chief Erika Shields resigned less than 24 hours after Mr Brooks’ death.
Protesters set fire to Wendy’s, which was later demolished.
Mr. Rolfe was fired a day after the shooting, but his dismissal was overturned in May 2021 by the Atlanta Civil Service Commission.
The commission found the city had not followed its own disciplinary procedures.
Five days after Mr. Brooks was killed, then-Fulton County District Attorney Mr. Howard held a dramatic press conference announcing the charges against Mr. Rolfe and Mr. Devon Brosnan.
Mr Rolfe’s charges include felony murder, aggravated assault and breach of his oath.
Mr Brosnan has been charged with aggravated assault and breach of oath.
Two months later, Mr. Howard lost the Democratic primary in his re-election bid.
Just weeks after taking office in January 2021, his successor, Fannie Willis, asked Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr to reassign the case.
Ms Willis, who has since drawn national attention as part of an investigation into whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally sought to influence the outcome of Georgia’s 2020 election, cited concerns over Mr Howard’s actions.
In a letter to Mr. Carr, Ms. Willis argued that Mr. Howard’s conduct, “including the use of video evidence in campaign TV commercials,” may have violated Georgia Bar.
She also noted that Mr. Carr had asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to investigate whether Mr. Howard had improperly issued a grand jury subpoena in the Rolfe case.
Mr Howard has denied wrongdoing.
Mr. Rolfe’s attorney, Noah Pines, also filed a motion to disqualify the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office from the case.
Mr. Carr initially declined to reassign the case, but in July 2021, Mr. Skandalakis was appointed to take over the case after Fulton County Superior Court Chief Justice Christopher Brasher found a conflict of interest and approved Ms. Willis’ resignation from her position.
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