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Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has defended her decision to dismiss a police officer following the death of Rayshard Brooks, with some questioning if the decision was made simply to quell protests and riots that erupted in the aftermath.
Bottoms said Wednesday that she stood by the decision to terminate Officer Garrett Rolfe, insisting it was "the right thing to do."
"Had immediate action not been taken, I firmly believe the public safety crisis we experienced during that time would have been significantly worse," Bottoms said in response to the Civil Service Board (CSB) decision.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms
The CSB announced its decision Wednesday to return Rolfe, citing several procedural errors made in the initial termination.
"Due to the City’s failure to comply with several provisions of the Code and the information received during witnesses’ testimony, the Board concludes the Appellant was not afforded his right to due process," the board said in its decision, according to news outlets. "Therefore, the Board grants the Appeal of Garrett Rolfe and revokes his dismissal as an employee of the APD."
Rolfe was involved in the shooting of Brooks, a Black man who fell asleep in his car in a Wendy’s drive-thru.
Police body camera video shows the 27-year-old struggling with two White officers after they told him he’d had too much to drink to be driving and tried to arrest him. Brooks grabbed a Taser from one of the officers and fled, firing it at Rolfe as he ran. An autopsy found that Brooks was shot twice in the back.
Rolfe faced 11 criminal counts, including murder, and was fired after the shooting. Devin Brosnan, the other officer involved in the incident, was charged with aggravated assault and violating his oath.
The case has not been indicted yet.
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Bottoms announced Rolfe's firing on the news at 5 p.m. on June 13, 2020. Rolfe claimed he didn’t find out about his "employee response hearing" until 3:45 p.m. the same day.
Some critics have questioned whether or not Bottoms fired Rolfe in order to try and stop rioting that followed Brooks’ death or if she was trying to do the right thing.
Rolfe’s attorney argued that officers are typically given five days to respond to allegations against them, but Rolfe – as well as officers Mark Gardner and Ivory Streeter – was dismissed one day after the alleged infractions.
Attorney and civil rights activist Gerald Griggs said that Bottoms made a mistake in "not providing due process."
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"In the rush to terminate (Rolfe), they did not give him adequate notice," Griggs told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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