US News

Scores of Atlanta cops call out of work after ex-officer charged in Rayshard Brooks’ death

By
Tamar Lapin
Published June 17, 2020
Updated June 18, 2020, 10:32 a.m. ET

The Atlanta Police Department said it saw an uptick in the number of officers calling out of work on Wednesday night — hours after local prosecutors announced charges against the ex-cop who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks.

“The department is experiencing a higher than usual number of call-outs with the incoming shift,” the Atlanta PD tweeted. “We have enough resources to maintain operations and remain able to respond to incidents.”

Earlier Wednesday, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced felony murder charges against ex-officer Garrett Rolfe — who was fired Saturday after shooting Brooks twice in the back during a scuffle outside a Wendy’s restaurant.

Rolfe, 27, will face 11 charges in all, and could be sentenced to death if convicted.

Officer Garret Rolfe and Rayshard Brooks moments before Rolfe shot and mortally wounded Brooks.
Officer Garrett Rolfe and Rayshard Brooks minutes before Rolfe shot and mortally wounded Brooks.Atlanta Police Department

The second officer involved in Brooks’ death, Devin Brosnan, 26, will face three charges, including aggravated assault — and reportedly will testify against Rolfe, the first time an Atlanta cop has crossed the thin blue line.

Following the announcement, some outlets, citing sources, reported that officers were walking off the job en masse, affecting several of the six zones that APD cops patrol.

The APD tweeted in response that “earlier suggestions that multiple officers from each zone had walked off the job were inaccurate” — while noting that the number of call-outs was “higher than usual.”

A union rep told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that “There are officers walking off … Some are walking off and sitting in their personal vehicles.”

“There are officers saying they are not going to leave the precinct unless to help another officer,” said Vince Champion, the Southeast regional director for the International Brotherhood of Police Officers.

Neither Atlanta police nor a local union representative confirmed the number of officers involved to the newspaper.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time”  that she didn’t have the exact number of cops who had walked out, but that “we do have enough officers to cover us through the night” and “we will be fine.”

“It’s my hope that our officers will remember the commitment they made when they held up their hands and were sworn in as police officers,” she said.