What happened in Atlanta today is not connected to the criminal charges, which remain pending against Rolfe.
Rather, today’s decision involves Rolfe’s appeal of his summary termination by then Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields. As the decision recounts, in the late-night hours of June 12, 2020, the encounter between Brooks and two Atlanta Police Officers took place in the parking lot of Wendy’s.
After the fatal shooting, during the day on June 13, 2020, and under a fear that the city was going to erupt in violence that night, Assistant Police Chief Todd Coyt signed a Notice of Proposed Adverse Action (NPAA) on behalf of the APD, recommending “Dismissal” because the Rolfe’s actions deemed contrary to and in violation of APD prohibiting the use of “Unnecessary Force.”
Atlanta Police Officer Who Was Fired For Fatally Shooting Rayshard Brooks Gets His Job Back
Garrett Rolfe, the Atlanta police officer who was fired for shooting and killing Rayshard Brooks has been reinstated.
The decision to give Rolfe’s his job back came after the Atlanta Civil Service Board determined that the city failed “to comply with several provisions of the City Code.”
The Board also stated in their five-page decision, “The Board concludes the appellant was not afforded his right to due process. Therefore, the Board grants the appeal of Garrett Rolfe and revokes his dismissal as an employer of the APD.”
An oversight board has ruled to reverse the termination of a former Atlanta police officer who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks in a southwest Atlanta Wendy’s parking lot in June.
In a five-page document, the Atlanta Civil Service Board outlined that Garrett Rolfe wasn’t afforded his right to due process.
On Wednesday’s edition of “Closer Look,” criminal defense attorney and WABE legal analyst Page Pate said the board’s decision was based on the process not the merits of the case.
“It’s critical for everyone to understand that the board is not saying that Officer Rolfe acted appropriately,” said Pate. “They are not overturning the finding that he used excessive force. In fact, they really didn’t address that at all. The only thing the board is doing is saying that the city did not follow its own policy and procedures when they terminated him so quickly after Brooks was shot.”
Atlanta officer who killed Rayshard Brooks reinstated
Last month during a virtual hearing, the officer requested back pay, benefits and a position back on the force.
The officer charged with murder in the fatal shooting of
Rayshard Brooks was recently reinstated to the force and will remain on administrative leave as decided by the Atlanta Civil Service Board.
Garrett Rolfe was initially fired from the Atlanta Police Department for his involvement in the shooting of Brooks in June 2020. But on Wednesday, The Atlanta Civil Service Board decided he was wrongfully terminated and plans to reverse that decision, per
NBC News. The board decided that the city in Georgia failed “to comply with several provisions” of the Atlanta City Code and “the information received during witnesses’ testimony,” per the five-page decision.