Cop charged in Rayshard Brooks' killing says 'the truth will come out'
One of the cops charged in Rayshard Brooks’ killing says the ‘truth will come out’, insists he didn’t do anything wrong and tried to help him after he was shot
- Officer Devin Brosnan maintains he’s innocent of assault on Rayshard Brooks
- Brooks, 27, was black man fatally shot near Wendy’s in Atlanta on June 12
- Now-fired Officer Garrett Rolfe shot Brooks in the back as he was fleeing
- Brooks wrestled with cops, took Brosnan’s Taser when they tried to arrest him
- Brosnan slammed his head into ground during scuffle and got a concussion
- He said he was disoriented and wasn’t fully aware that Brooks had been shot
- Prosecutors said Brosnan stood on Brooks’ shoulders for two minutes
- But video shows Brosnan pressing his foot on Brooks’ arm for just a few seconds
- Rolfe has been charged with felony murder and 10 other crimes
- His bond hearing was moved from Tuesday, the same day as Brooks’ funeral
The Atlanta police officer who faces assault charges in the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks vows ‘the truth will come out’ as the cop who pulled the trigger has his bond hearing moved after it was scheduled on the same day as the funeral.
Devin Brosnan, who has been charged with aggravated assault for allegedly standing on Brooks’ shoulder after he was shot, has called the shooting a tragedy.
He denies the accusation that he stood on Brooks’ shoulder. Brosnan has also denied claims by prosecutors that he did not render aid to Brooks, who was black, in a timely fashion after he was shot by now-fired Officer Garrett Rolfe.
Devin Brosnan (left) is the Atlanta police officer charged with assault in the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks on June 12. The now-fired officer who killed Brooks, Garrett Rolfe (right), had his bond hearing moved from Tuesday, the same day that Brooks’ funeral is scheduled to be held
Cell phone video shows Brooks, a 27-year-old black man, wrestling with Brosnan (left) and Rolfe (right) near a Wendy’s fast food restaurant in Atlanta late on the night of June 12
‘It’s totally a tragedy,’ Brosnan said of Brooks’ death in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
‘At the end of the day, someone lost their life. To me, it’s heartbreaking no matter the circumstances, no matter what.
‘When anybody dies truly is something you never want to see happen, to have happen.
Brosnan (seen in his mug shot from June 18) is denying allegations that he assaulted Brooks by standing on his shoulders for two minutes
‘I can’t imagine what a family would go through.’
The shooting happened against the backdrop of nationwide protests following George Floyd’s death after a white Minneapolis officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes.
Demonstrations have called for rethinking policing and an examination of racism in the United States.
When asked what went through his mind watching the video of the officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Floyd’s neck as he couldn’t breathe, Brosnan said: ‘To me, just watching that is just the exact opposite of what I want anyone to ever associate with me, my profession.’
Brosnan was called to the drive-thru area of a Wendy’s in Atlanta on the night of June 12 after witnesses reported that a black man appeared to be asleep in his car.
Wendy’s customers who lined up to get food had to drive their cars around the parked vehicle where Brooks had fallen asleep.
Brooks, who was shot and killed by an Atlanta police officer, is seen on display during the public viewing at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on Monday
Pictured: Police body cam footage from the arrest of Rayshard Brooks on June 12, 2020. Brooks was being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence
After Brosnan smelled alcohol on the 27-year-old Brooks, he called for a certified DUI officer to come to the scene. That’s when Rolfe, also 27, arrived just a few minutes later.
After Brooks failed a field sobriety test, the officers tried to arrest him.
But Brooks resisted. He eventually wrestled with both officers, taking Brosnan’s Taser.
He then shot Brosnan with the Taser, and began running. As Rolfe gave chase, Brooks is seen on surveillance video shooting the stun gun at him.
Moments later, Rolfe fatally shoots Brooks in the back.
Rolfe was fired from the police force. He has since been charged with felony murder and other crimes.
Brosnan, 26, was released on $50,000 signature bond last week after he turned himself in.
Interim police Chief Rodney Bryant has said he was surprised Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard brought charges so quickly, before the Georgia Bureau of Investigation had finished looking into the shooting.
The GBI said in a tweet after Howard announced the charges that the agency was not consulted on the charges.
Brosnan told AJC that he was disappointed in the decision by Howard to indict him.
‘I feel like my side wasn’t really heard and given the short timeframe it’s hard for anybody to understand all the facts and the whole circumstances around it,’ he said.
‘That being said, I’m still willing to cooperate.’
Moments before he is shot, Brooks (left) is heard telling police officers that he was meeting his girlfriend who goes by the name Natalie White. The video shows Brooks and Brosnan (seen right) having a cordial conversation
Brosnan, who has since been assigned to desk duty, has been on the force for less than two years.
He said he has used a laid-back approach to try to defuse situations. In the body cam video, Brosnan is seen having a cordial conversation with Brooks before events spun out of control.
Brosnan told AJC he was surprised that Brooks’ behavior changed after he was told he was being taken into custody.
‘You’re always taught in policing that you have to expect anything to happen,’ Brosnan said.
‘But that being said, I felt like he was very respectful, I was respectful to him.’
During the scuffle with Brooks, Brosnan slammed his head into the pavement, causing him to sustain a concussion.
He said he was diagnosed with a concussion by doctors at Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was examined after the shooting.
Brosnan recalled that the concussion left him feeling disoriented and terrified.
That was when Brooks took his Taser, according to Brosnan.
In the video, Brooks is seen firing the Taser at Brosnan, who can be heard screaming after he was stunned by the electrical current.
Moments later, as Brooks tried to flee, he was shot twice by Rolfe, who fired three rounds.
Brooks is survived by his wife, Miller; three daughters; and a stepson
When asked if he would do anything differently, Brosnan said he would not have.
Brosnan’s attorneys have criticized the district attorney, Howard, for claiming during a news conference that he had agreed to become a witness for the prosecution.
Brosnan said he was taken aback by Howard’s comments.
‘I just looked at it like, he could have just said I’m doing the right thing – I’m talking,’ Brosnan said.
‘But it just seemed like it was more important to make it political than it was to get to the truth of the matter and get to the real facts of it.
‘Some person lost their life. It’s not something to make political.’
Brosnan said that he has answered every question put to him by investigators and prosecutors in the district attorney’s office.
‘I’m not a cooperating witness, I’m cooperating,’ he said.
‘I think that’s the takeaway.’
He then added: ‘I’ll tell the truth to anybody who needs to hear it.’
Prosecutors have maintained that Brosnan stood on Brooks’ shoulders for two minutes, but video shows Brosnan putting his foot on Brooks’ arm for a few seconds.
Brosnan said that at the time he was not fully aware of what had happened because he was still feeling the after-effects of a concussion.
‘I hear gunfire,’ he said.
‘I know he still has my Taser. I know there’s a crowd.
‘I got up to him and I’m trying to figure out what’s going on.
‘You need to make sure you’re safe before you can help or do anything else.’
Brosnan took his foot off Brooks as he lay dying on the pavement after it became clear that he no longer posed a threat.
‘It’s totally just an instinctual thing for my own safety,’ he said.
Tomika Miller, the widow of Rayshard Brooks, places her hand on his chest during a public viewing at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on Monday afternoon
Miller arrived surrounded by loved ones who escorted her into the church
Emblazoned on Miller’s white dress was a photo of her with Brooks surrounded by a gold frame
The viewing is being held at Ebenezer Baptist Church, which was the Rev Martin Luther King Jr’s congregation. Pallbearers are seen bringing Brooks’ body into the sanctuary in a gold casket
A long line of people is seen outside Ebenezer ahead of the public viewing on Monday
The hearse had a placard with a picture of Brooks and next to his name was written: ‘KILLED in Atlanta, Georgia 2020’
‘When I realized I was safe that’s when I take it off. In no way shape or form was I trying to hurt this man.’
Video footage shows that it took the two officers about two minutes for them to start administering first aid to Brooks.
Brosnan stood next to Brooks while Rolfe ran back to his patrol car to get a first aid kit.
Brosnan’s lawyer said that his client removed Brooks’ shirt so they could treat the bullet wounds.
Brosnan will be interviewed on Tuesday by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which has been asked by the Atlanta Police Department to probe the shooting.
‘I have full faith in the criminal justice system,’ Brosnan said.
‘I really do. I have 100 per cent faith the truth will come out.
‘People will see this for what it is.
‘They will understand I didn’t do anything wrong. I know the truth is what counts.’
Rolfe, who faces far more serious charges, is currently housed in a Gwinnett County detention center, according to CBS 46 TV.
His bond hearing was set to take place on Tuesday, but it has been pushed back to an unspecified date.
Brooks’ funeral will be held in Atlanta on Tuesday.
Mourners filed through Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church on Monday for a public viewing of Brooks, a Black man whose fatal shooting by a white police officer came amid growing calls for an end to racial injustice after the death of George Floyd.
Latoya Spikes, 40, and her daughter, 12-year-old Morgan Green, arrived more than two hours early and were first in line outside the church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was once pastor and where Brooks’ funeral is set for Tuesday.
‘We want to come in peace and we want to go in peace. We didn’t want to get caught up in a crowd of unrest,’ Spikes said.
‘We just wanted to come and show our respects.’
Miller donned an all-white ensemble complete with a large hat for Monday’s viewing, where she was surrounded by family
The Rev Raphael G Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer, embraces Miller during the viewing. ‘Rayshard was not a member of our church but he, and his loved ones, are a part of our family,’ Warnock said
Miller is consoled by a family member after stopping by Brooks’ open casket at the start of the viewing
A family with a young girl pay their respects during the public viewing
Just under an hour before the viewing began at 3pm, a gold-colored coffin carrying Brooks’ body arrived at the church
Men wearing protective face masks carry Brooks’ body into the sanctuary
Mourners began lining up outside the church on Monday morning, many wearing masks due to coronavirus concerns
Metal barricades were set up outside Ebenezer Baptist Church in anticipation of large crowds
A mourner wears a mask with a quote from the Rev Martin Luther King Jr, who presided over Ebenezer
Demonstrators gathered outside the viewing with signs demanding justice
About an hour before the four-hour public viewing began, a gold-colored casket carrying Brooks’ body arrived at the church.
Brooks’ widow, Tomika Miller, followed a short time later wearing a white dress printed with a photo of the two of them.
‘I didn’t know Rayshard Brooks but, just like George Floyd, we know him now,’ said Manerva Harris, 42, who wore a shirt reading ‘I CAN’T BREATHE.’
She used an umbrella to shield herself from intense afternoon sun while she waited in line.
‘Not even a week after they had buried Mr. Floyd, now here we go where we have another black family going through the same thing,’ she said.
‘It’s hard and it’s just crazy that we’re still living like this today.’
Brandon Hooks had taken his 11-year-old son Braden, who was visiting from Alabama for Father’s Day, to the nearby King Center to learn about the civil rights movement, ‘just for him to see, you know, what black people have been through.’
When he realized Brooks’ viewing was happening across the street, he decided they should stop and pay their respects.
‘It was emotional because that could be me, and I want him to realize and I want him to see that it could be him. I want him to understand the importance of what we’re going through,’ Hooks said after leaving the church, explaining that as a Black man he’s always felt fear when he sees police.
A video feed from inside the church showed mourners – some wearing Black Lives Matter T-shirts and all wearing masks as a precaution against the coronavirus – filing past the casket where Brooks lay in a white suit and gold tie.
Brooks’ eulogy Tuesday is to be delivered by the Rev. Raphael Warnock, the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist and a Democrat running for US Senate.
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