The Fulton County (Georgia) District Attorney says a decision on whether to bring charges against the police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks could come Wednesday. The key to those charges may be police body camera video.
Brooks, 27, was shot and killed by Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe on Friday night after police moved to handcuff him for suspected driving under the influence. Multiple videos show Brooks took an officer’s stun gun during the attempted arrest and tried to fire it as he ran away.
News4Jax crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson, a former police officer, watched the encounter and offered this analysis.
[Watch the second half of Ken Jefferson’s interview below]
“You’re taught in training that if someone disarms you and takes your Taser and they use that Taser on you, that’s almost like a death sentence for that officer because that person who is using the Taser against the officer can take his weapon from him and kill him," Jefferson said.
Rolfe, who has since been fired, could face homicide charges. Jefferson said it is difficult to say whether the charge is justified and depends on Georgia law. But he can see where the Atlanta cop felt his life was being threatened.
“This one is hard to call because you got a suspect who physically fought you -- so that was resisting arrest with violence because he battered the officer -- you see that in the video,” Jefferson said. “Then he flees, he’s got a felony charge on him, he’s fleeing and as he’s fleeing he’s got a weapon in his hand, a less-lethal weapon in his hand, that could disable that officer if it makes contact.
“This is going to have to be carefully examined by the District Attorney of Georgia based on Georgia laws. Right when we see (Brooks) deploy the Taser is when we see the officer pull his weapon out and uses it with deadly force against Mr. Brooks."
Jefferson also talked about the fact that in this case, and the George Floyd case in Minneapolis, police were quick to release the body camera video. Asked why it’s not done in Duval County he answered, “I don’t understand why we here in Duval County, one of the premier agencies in the state, can’t follow suit."
“The public has a right to know, a right to see it," Jefferson added. “I’m not saying rush, rush, rush so you can compromise an investigation, or interfere with the State Attorney’s Office’s ability to do their job, but it’s apparent with the public pressure that has been happening in the last two weeks -- they’re not taking steps to release body cam video more expeditiously than they’ve been saying in the past."
Jefferson also believes this latest shooting will lead to discussions nationwide about developing some sort of guidelines and training about the escalation of police-involved incidents.