Former APD Agent Charged in Brooks Case with $ 500,000 Bonus

»» RAYSHARD BROOKS AJC COVERAGE

At one point, Miller had to pause to regain his composure. She then expressed anger at Rolfe for allegedly kicking Brooks, 27, as he lay on the ground after being shot and then waited two minutes before rendering first aid.

"While Rayshard Brooks' family is disappointed that his killer received bail today, they understand that this is only one step in Rayshard's long search for justice," said attorneys Chris Stewart and Justin Miller, who represent the Brooks family. a declaration.

Barwick imposed a number of conditions on Rolfe's bond: he must wear an ankle monitor, have no contact with witnesses, comply with a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., surrender his passport, and possess no firearms.

Rolfe was fired less than 24 hours after his fatal Brooks shooting was replayed on video recordings, and was criminally charged five days after the shooting.

Rolfe killed Brooks in the Wendy's parking lot in South Atlanta. Protests erupted across the city, Wendy's was set on fire, and Police Chief Erika Shields resigned.

Rolfe, a certified DUI officer, had been called to the scene to assist Officer Devin Brosnan. Brosnan had answered a 911 call that Brooks was asleep in his car in Wendy's driveway.

After giving Brooks sobriety and encouragement tests in the field, Rolfe told Brooks to put his hands behind his back. At that time, Brooks, who was on probation, tried to flee, and he and the two officers fell to the pavement in a fight.

Brooks took control of Brosnan's Taser and ran through the parking lot with Rolfe in his search. After Brooks turned and aimed the Taser at Rolfe and pulled the trigger, Rolfe shot three times, hitting Brooks twice in the back.

Fulton's prosecutor Clint Rucker asked Barwick to deny bail to Rolfe, who is charged with murder and 10 other crimes.

When Rolfe opened fire, Rucker said, Brooks was not aiming the Taser at Rolfe. He turned his back on the officer, was fleeing and did not pose an immediate physical threat, the prosecutor said.

"I am not excusing Mr. Brooks's actions, and certainly if he were here today perhaps those matters would be addressed under a different type of procedure," said Rucker. "But I am here to say that Officer Brook's shooting of Mr. Brooks in the back was not justified."

Rucker also maintained that the case against Rolfe is solid.

"It is so strong that it would provide a motivation for Officer Rolfe to flee this jurisdiction to avoid criminal prosecution," said Rucker. Without going into details, Rucker also said Rolfe received $ 250,000 in donations.

Pines, when arguing for bail, denied that his client kicked Brooks when the fallen suspect was on the ground. "That is simply not true," he said.

Bill Thomas, another attorney representing Rolfe, read excerpts from various letters from Rolfe's friends, former colleagues, and supervisors. They described the former police officer as trustworthy, someone who treated the suspects with respect and did not pose any flight risk.

Rolfe is different from many other murder defendants: he is not a "gang member" or someone accused of a shooting, Thomas told Barwick. "Officer Rolfe was a committed person in the performance of his duties, a situation escalated and unfortunately resulted in death."

Thomas had asked Barwick to allow Rolfe to be released on $ 50,000 bail, the same thing he gave to Brosnan, who was charged with aggravated assault and three other offenses. Brosnan has firmly denied any wrongdoing.

For a signing bond, the defendant does not have to put money or property. For the type of bail imposed on Rolfe, the defendants generally have to pay at least 10 percent of that amount to get their release.