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Officer who shot Rayshard Brooks had been admonished for 2016 use of force complaint

Officer who shot Rayshard Brooks had been admonished for 2016 use of force complaint
Posted at 1:34 PM, Jun 16, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-16 15:40:17-04

The Atlanta police officer who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks during a Friday night altercation was previously reprimanded following a citizen's use of force complaint, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and CNN report.

CNN reports that a citizen filed a use of force complaint against Officer Garrett Rolfe in 2016. The AJC reports that Rolfe received a formal written reprimand for the incident in 2017.

The documents reportedly did not describe the circumstances around the complaint or Rolfe's punishment.

The AJC also reports Rolfe's file includes 12 other incident reports. He was exonerated in nine of those instances. He received "oral admonishment" for two separate vehicle accidents, and an incident involving the 2015 discharge of a firearm was never concluded.

The Atlanta Police Department has since fired Rolfe.

A second officer involved in Brooks' arrest, Officer Devin Brosnan, has no disciplinary history. He joined the force in 2018. He's since been placed on administrative duty pending an investigation.

Rolfe shot and killed Brooks on Friday after he and Brosnan attempted to arrest Brooks on DUI charges.

Body camera and surveillance footage shows that Brosnan found Brooks asleep in his car in the drive-thru line at a Wendy's restaurant in Atlanta. Rolfe later arrived on the scene. After the officers chatted with Brooks, they submitted him to a field sobriety test, which he failed. When the officers attempted to arrest him, Brooks appeared to resist, and a struggle ensued. Brooks was able to steal Brosnan's stun gun, and as he tried to flee officers, he appeared to point the weapon at Rolfe. That's when Rolfe shot Brooks twice in the back.

Brooks' death reignited protests in Atlanta, calling for an end to police brutality. Anti-police brutality protests have taken place in cities across the country since George Floyd died in Minneapolis police custody on Memorial Day.