Atlanta to pay $1M to the family of Rayshard Brooks

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The city of Atlanta has agreed to pay a $1 million settlement to the family of Rayshard Brooks, who was killed by police in 2020.

Rayshard Brooks settlement

Atlanta’s city council voted unanimously 15-0 to approve the settlement. The vote comes nearly three months after prosecutors determined the officers involved were justified in the fatal shooting.

“This grieving family has been through so much during this process. Although the children of Mr. Brooks have lost their father, settling the case will undoubtedly assist them with future plans as they come of age,” attorneys representing Brooks’ family said in a statement, according news station WXIA.

Police incident

In June 2020, Atlanta police were called to the scene when Brooks fell asleep in his car at a Wendy’s parking lot. Two officers had a calm conversation with him for about 40 minutes. After Brooks failed a sobriety test, the officers tried to arrest him. Brooks grabbed one of their Tasers and fired it as he fled before he was shot during the confrontation that was captured on video.

His death came just weeks after the murder of George Floyd and reignited demonstrations in Atlanta against police brutality and racial injustice.

Charges

Atlanta police chief Erika Shields resigned, Officer Garrett Rolfe — who shot Brooks — was fired and the other officer present was placed on administrative duty. But the Atlanta Civil Service Board later reversed Rolfe’s termination because it found the city failed to follow its own procedures for disciplinary action.

Rolfe initially was charged with felony murder, aggravated assault and violation of his oath. Officer Devin Brosnan was charged with aggravated assault and violating his oath. In August, a special prosecutor announced he would not pursue charges against both officers, saying he didn’t believe race played a factor in the shooting and that the use of deadly force was “objectively reasonable.”

Brooks’ widow, Tomika Miller, filed the wrongful death lawsuit in September 2021. Councilman Dustin Hillis told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the settlement would effectively dismiss the lawsuit against the city.