The Atlanta City Council voted Monday to pay $1 million to the family of Rayshard Brooks who was shot and killed by an Atlanta Police Department officer in 2020.
Brooks, 27, was shot and killed June 12, 2020, after Officers Garrett Rolfe and Devin Brosnan tried to arrest him for DUI in the parking lot of a Wendy’s on University Avenue. The shooting set off protests around the city, including Sandy Springs, and at the fast food restaurant, which was burned to the ground. Erika Shields resigned as police chief after the shooting.
“The city attorney has done an extensive review of the facts and the law and has determined that the city of Atlanta has potential financial exposure,” Councilmember Dustin Hollis read as part of the resolution to settle. The settlement was approved unanimously after an executive session.
Garrett Rolfe was fired and then charged with murder. Brosnan faced aggravated assault charges. APD officials were faced to deny reports of massive walkouts by officers, but acknowledged a “higher than average number of officers” did call in sick in after the officers were charged.
Rolfe was reinstated as an APD officer last year and charges against Rolfe and Brosnan were eventually dropped.
Brooks’ widow, Tomika Miller, filed a federal lawsuit against the city after the charges were dropped against Rolfe and Brosnan.