Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed by Atlanta police over the weekend, less than a month after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Has this latest police shooting taken us right back to square one?
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On Friday night, someone called 911 to report that a man had fallen asleep behind the wheel of his car while in the drive-thru lane of a local Wendy’s restaurant. When police arrived, they found 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks passed out in his car and unable to be aroused despite numerous attempts to wake him. According to police bodycam footage, Atlanta police officer Devin Brosnan told Brooks to move his car from the drive-thru lane and sleep until he was able to drive. Instead, Brooks fell asleep once again — while still in the drive-thru lane and with Brosnan still standing at his car door.
Fearing that Brooks was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, Brosnan demanded that he pull over for an official check.
Initially, Rayshard Brooks appeared polite and alert, explaining that he had consumed only 1 drink that evening and that he doesn’t do drugs. Atlanta police officer Garret Rolfe then appeared on the scene and asked if Brooks would consent to a breathalyzer test. He agreed but failed the test, which prompted Rolfe to handcuff Brooks and place him under arrest. That’s when things took a turn for the worse.
Out of nowhere, Brooks resisted arrest and fought to get away from the 2 police officers. He was able to successfully overpower them and even grabbed the taser from one of the officers. As Brooks ran away, Rolfe raced after him and deployed his own taser in an attempt to subdue Brooks. Instead, Brooks turned and fired the stolen taser back at the pursuing officer. Brooks was then shot 3 times in the back and collapsed in the parking lot. He later died while in hospital.
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Officer Garret Rolfe has since been fired and is facing an investigation from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Additionally, Atlanta police chief Erika Shields has resigned.
Unlike the George Floyd shooting, 2 schools of thought have developed in the police shooting death of Rayshard Brooks.
Some believe that because Brooks was clearly under the influence of some drug or alcohol, that he resisted arrest, that he physically fought and overpowered 2 police officers, that he attempted to run away and escape, and that he endangered a police officer by firing a taser at him, the police were left with no other alternative than to use their firearm as a last resort.
However, others believe that despite Brooks clearly being under the influence of some drug or alcohol and despite him physically fighting and overpowering 2 policemen, Brooks was not a threat or danger to anyone in the area and didn’t deserve to die. Those within this school of thought also point out that the officers still had his driver’s license and his car, so he couldn’t have gone far. Additionally, the officers could have simply called for backup and easily subdued Brooks once he was exhausted from running and overwhelmed with a beefed-up police presence.
Take a look at the police bodycam footage below and decide for yourself. Did police attempt every available option before pulling the trigger? Or did the officers overreact and allow the situation to immediately escalate from 0 to 100 within seconds because they were overpowered by a black man?
Does the police shooting of Rayshard Brooks rise to the same level of police brutality and systemic racism that was evident in the George Floyd case?
Okay so before I actually respond I’d like to start with this…..
It’s clear to me that way too many, if not not most, of the cops working in local police precincts these days are intellectually, temperamentally, (perhaps even) physically UNFIT to do that job. And they are absolutely poorly trained!
The whole culture of local policing in America is disgraceful to say the least. I mean…My Lord! How did policing FALL to this degenerate level?! Most of these jokers have no business on ANY police force, anywhere, at any level. And that includes police chiefs and captains.
Yes. It needs to be reformed from top to bottom!!!