Atlanta Police Walking Off the Job After Fulton County Prosecutor Charges Officer Garrett Rolfe
Richard Moorhead
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A considerable element of the Atlanta Police Department are leaving their posts in the wake of the controversial criminal charges filed against Officer Garrett Rolfe, who was recently fired from the department after a shooting of a man many are claiming was legally justified.
Rolfe shot and killed Rayshard Brooks when attempting to arrest the 27-year old for suspicion of driving under the influence. The latter had resisted arrest and taken Officer Rolfe’s taser device, deploying it against him as he fled the police before being shot.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced that he would prosecute Rolfe on felony murder charges with the possibility of the death penalty on Wednesday. However, some Georgia law enforcement point to the shooting as a justified use of force, with Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams pointing to the incident as a justified shooting after the suspect used the taser against police officers.
After charges were announced, reports indicated that a sizable contingent of Atlanta Police Department personnel have walked off the job in protest of the Fulton County District Attorney’s decision to press charges against Rolfe.
My contacts in the Atlanta Police Department inform me that members from evening shift Zone 4 walked off the job shortly followed by Officers in Zone 3 and 6. The good members of the @Atlanta_Police will not stand for @FultonCountyDA’s activism in place of applying the law. https://t.co/PDWZNgFeXb
— Rob O'Donnell (@odonnell_r) June 17, 2020
Conservative commentator Steve Deace describing receiving an email from an Atlanta police officer in the wake of the announcement confirming that many Atlanta police were turning off their car radios and declining to respond to reports of criminal conduct.
Just got this email from an Atlanta police officer:
"Atlanta police officers are refusing to answer the radio and walking off of the job. The county can go screw themselves. If you want a society without police we’ll give you one. Let it burn!"
— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) June 17, 2020
After the highly questionable criminal charging of a police officer who shot a suspect who deployed a potentially deadly weapon against him, it appears the city of Atlanta is about to begin an experiment in the operation of a major American city without police.
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