US policeman faces murder charge over Brooks death
A police officer who fatally shot a fleeing black man in the trunk last week in Atlanta, Georgia, will be charged with murder and assault, officials say.
Garrett Rolfe, who was already fired, faces 11 charges linked to Rayshard Brooks' loss of life. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
The other officer at the scene, Devin Brosnan, will testify as a witness in the event, officials said.
The case comes amid US protests over police killings of black Americans.
Lawmakers found in Washington are debating new law enforcement reform laws.
Officials said this is the ninth time an Atlanta law enforcement officer had been prosecuted for homicide.
They added that it's believed to be the very first time a officer would testify against an associate of his own unit, though Mr Brosnan's legal professional denied his client will be a witness in the case.
Mr Brooks, 27, failed a sobriety check on 12 June after he was found asleep inside his car that was blocking a drive-through lane at a Wendy's restaurant.
After pulling over his vehicle, the father-of-four appeared "slightly impaired, but his behaviour in this incident was nearly jovial", Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard explained on Wednesday.
For over 40 minutes, video displays him complying with officers as he consented to a good weapons search and provided them along with his identification details.
However, as officers attempted to handcuff him, he began struggling. The footage seems to display Mr Brooks punched Mr Rolfe, grabbed Mr Brosnan's stun gun and turned back while fleeing to fire it at Mr Rolfe.
Mr Brooks suffered several gunshots to the back that caused organ injuries and loss of blood. One police bullet as well hit a witness' vehicle, nearly eliminating the driver, investigators say.
Prosecutors said Mr Rolfe said: "I acquired him." For over two minutes after Mr Brooks was shot, neither officer furnished medical assistance as police must do, prosecutors said.
Rather, Mr Rolfe kicked Mr Brooks while he was on the floor, Mr Howard added.
Officer Brosnan - who has already been put on administrative leave - will come to be charged with assault for allegedly sitting on Mr Brooks' shoulder as he lay dying.
The district lawyer said that eight videos from the scene showed Mr Brooks "displayed no aggressive behaviour through the 41 minutes and 17 seconds" that he was questioned, and posed no physical risk to the officers for the reason that time.
Mr Brooks was 18ft (5.5m) from the officers when he was first shot twice found in the trunk, investigators say.
"I believe that during the shooting, Mr Brooks didn't represent a threat," Mr Howard said, noting that police guidelines prohibit firing a good Taser at a fleeing suspect.
"Therefore he certainly cannot fire a handgun at someone functioning away," he said.
A lawyer for Mr Rolfe blamed Mr Brooks for his decision to "violently attack" the arresting officers "suddenly, unexpectedly or provocation".
"Mr Brooks violently attacked several officers and disarmed one of them," continued the assertion issued by the LoRusso LAWYER.
"When Mr Brooks switched and pointed an object at Officer Rolfe, any officer could have reasonably thought that he designed to disarm, disable, or seriously injure him."
A legal professional for Mr Brosnan disputed the district attorney's declare that he will serve as a "state's witness", or that he has recently admitted to sitting on Mr Brooks as he died.
"It's absolutely untrue," lawyer Don Samuel told the Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper.
The shooting came as the nation had been in uproar over the loss of life in police custody of another unarmed black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The four officers involved with Mr Floyd's arrest have already been sacked and so are facing expenses of second-level murder, or aiding and abetting murder.
The Wendy's restaurant where Mr Brooks died was burned by arsonists after about 1,000 protesters resulted in there in the hours after his death. His loss of life also resulted in the resignation of Atlanta's chief of law enforcement.
A legal professional for Mr Brooks' widow, Tomika Miller, told the Associated Press that he had not been aware of a number of the facts announced on Wednesday, such as for example Mr Rolfe's alleged kick as Mr Brooks lay dying.
"It's heartbreaking, but it's an effort to redefine justice," said lawyer L Chris Stewart.
