The Police Officer Who Shot Rayshard Brooks Has A History Of Excessive Force

Garrett Rolfe, the Atlanta police officer who shot Rayshard Brooks twice in the back during an altercation at a Wendy’s in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday, was previously reprimanded for using excessive force, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Tuesday. In October of 2017, Rolfe was given a written reprimand for excessive force relating to an incident that occurred in September 2016. Though details of the incident were not released, records show that the incident did involve a firearm.

The Atlanta Police Department released the disciplinary records of both the officers who were involved in the arrest and subsequent shooting of Brooks on Monday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Rolfe had 12 incidents listed on his record including vehicle accidents, citizen complaints, and two other firearm-involved incidents. His written reprimand in 2017 was his only reprimand for excessive use of force. However, his disciplinary record did show another incident where he discharged his firearm in 2015, but no formal reprimand was listed in relation to that incident.

Of the 12 reported incidents, Rolfe was cleared of nine through internal investigations. The 2015 firearm incident did not have a resolution listed in his record. Two other incidents, both vehicle accidents, resulted in official reprimands. Rolfe was a member of the Atlanta PD for seven years before being fired for shooting Brooks, according to Reuters.

The police officer who shot #RayshardBrooks in the back had 12 incidents on his disciplinary record, 3 involving guns. Garrett Rolfe has been fired with charges expected this week.

Atlanta's mayor promised to reform police, including more training on deescalation. pic.twitter.com/QyGkQf4KPc

— AJ+ (@ajplus) June 16, 2020

Devin Brosnan, the other officer on the scene, had nothing on his disciplinary record, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Brosnan was relatively new to the force. He started in 2018. He has not been fired but has been placed on administrative leave while the incident is being investigated.

Per The Inquisitr, Rolfe and Brosnan responded to a 911 call made from a Wendy’s on Friday night. The caller said that a driver appeared to be asleep in their car in the drive-thru line. When Brosnan and Rolfe arrived on the scene, the got Brooks out of his car and performed a field sobriety test. When Brooks failed, the officers tried to arrest him and a tussle ensued. Brooks got ahold of one of the officer’s tasers and began to flee on foot. The officers chased him. Brooks turned and shot the taser toward Brosnan. Rolfe drew his gun and shot Brooks twice in the back.

On Sunday, the Fulton County Medical Examiner determined that Brooks died due to massive blood loss and internal injuries because of two gunshot wounds in his back and ruled the death a homicide. The city of Atlanta erupted in protests against police brutality over the weekend, during which, the Wendy’s where Brooks was shot was set on fire.