Rayshard Brooks: Footage of moments before fatal shooting raises questions for police
The 27-year-old father was shot in the car park of a Wendy's in Atlanta on Friday night and later died in hospital.
Monday 15 June 2020 12:15, UK
Police in the US have released bodycam and dashcam footage of the moments leading up to the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks.
The 27-year-old father was shot in the car park of a Wendy's in Atlanta on Friday night, and he later died in hospital.
His death has been ruled a homicide caused by gunshot wounds to the back, and his name has become the latest hashtag in the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
There are three angles from the police footage - Officer Garrett Rolfe's camera, Officer Devin Brosnan's camera and the dashcam.
Police had been called to a drive-thru restaurant to reports of a man asleep in his car.
They found Mr Brooks at the wheel in the car park. His door was open.
They talked for several minutes and searched him. He was compliant throughout.
They then asked him to take part in a "field sobriety test". Again, he complied.
After more discussion, he agreed to a breathalyser test, as seen in the next clip.
Mr Brooks failed the breath test.
Officer Garrett Rolfe then attempts to handcuff Mr Brooks. His bodycam picks up the moment.
"Alright, I think you've had too much to drink to be driving, so put your hands behind your back for me. Put your hands behind your back," he says.
Mr Brooks resists.
In the scuffle, the bodycam falls to the floor.
The footage below shows the same moment from Officer Devin Brosnan's camera. His camera too eventually ends up on the floor.
This next clip shows the same moment again, but from the dashcam. You can see that Mr Brooks tries to break free.
The three wrestle and Mr Brooks takes one of the officer's Taser stun guns. The other officer then fires his Taser. Mr Brooks runs off with one of the tasers.
This footage, from a nearby security camera, shows the seconds which were not caught on the police cameras of the moment Mr Brooks was fatally shot.
Here, the different camera angles have been put into one sequence.
It raises these questions for the police:
- Did the officer need to shoot?
- Did the officer act reasonably?
- Were there reasonable alternatives?
- Tasers are non-lethal, so officers weren't in mortal danger themselves?
Officer Garrett Rolfe fired the fatal rounds. Hired by Atlanta police force in October 2013, he's now been fired.
Officer Devin Brosnan has been placed on administrative duty. He has been with Atlanta police since September 2018.
Local district attorney Paul Howard has told US media that a decision on charges being brought against the officer who fired the shots will be made "sometime around Wednesday".
"[Brooks] did not seem to present any threat to anyone. The fact that it would escalate to his death seems unreasonable," Mr Howard added.
Black Lives Matter protesters, many chanting "Who's streets? Our streets?" had gathered outside the restaurant where Mr Brooks was shot dead before moving to the police station where Officer Brosnan was based.
The route passed peacefully, but loudly, through white neighbourhoods to the station which was surrounded by officers in riot gear preventing demonstrators getting near.
Many of the officers on the frontline were black, with intense emotions on all sides.
The Black Lives Matter movement crosses America. Atlanta is the latest focus in its call for accountability.
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