Attorneys for the family of Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man who was killed by police in a Wendy’s parking lot in 2020, revealed on Monday that the Atlanta city council had approved a $1 million compensation for the family of Brooks. Brooks was shot and killed by police in 2020.
According to a representative for the municipal council, the settlement was approved by a vote of 15-0 by the city council. In a statement given on Tuesday, attorneys for Brooks family stated that although they were disappointed that prosecutors decided not seek criminal charges against the police, they are still holding out hope that the Justice Department will step in and take action.
According to the statement, the family of Rayshard Brooks is “delighted” to have achieved a settlement with the city of Atlanta that concludes their civil action. “The family of Rayshard Brooks is pleased to have reached this agreement,” “Even though Mr Brooks’ children are grieving the loss of their father, the resolution of this case will certainly make it easier for them to make preparations for the future as they get older.”
When Brooks fell asleep in his car at Wendy’s in June of 2020, officers from the Atlanta Police Department were called to the scene and spoke with him for approximately forty minutes. The officers attempted to arrest Brooks after he performed poorly on a sobriety test. During the confrontation on tape, Brooks managed to seize one of their Tasers and shoot it as he ran away from the situation before he was shot.
Just a few weeks after the killing of George Floyd, his death rekindled protests against police violence and racial injustice in Atlanta. His death occurred shortly after George Floyd’s death.
Officer Garrett Rolfe, who was responsible for shooting Brooks, was terminated from his position, while the other officer who was there was assigned to administrative duty. Chief Erika Shields of the Atlanta Police Department resigned. The Atlanta Civil Service Board eventually overturned Rolfe’s dismissal on the grounds that the city had not adhered to its policies and procedures for the administration of disciplinary action.
Rolfe was first confronted with a number of charges, some of which included criminal murder, serious assault, and violation of his oath. Officer Devin Brosnan was accused of comusa mitting aggravated assault and breaking the oath he took to uphold the law. A special prosecutor made an announcement in August that he would not pursue charges against either of the officers involved in the shooting. He stated that he did not feel that race had a role in the incident and that using deadly force was “objectively reasonable.”
In September 2021, Tomika Miller, Brooks’ widow, initiated legal action alleging that he had been the victim of wrongful death. According to Councilman Dustin Hillis, who spoke with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the settlement, the lawsuit that was filed against the city would be essentially dismissed.
“The city attorney has done an extensive review of the facts and the law and has determined that the city of Atlanta’s potential financial exposure in defending the plaintiff’s claims is greater than the settlement amount,” Hillis told the outlet in response to the question. “The city of Atlanta’s potential financial exposure in defending the plaintiff’s claims is greater than the settlement amount.”
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