What has changed 3 years after the deaths of Rayshard Brooks and Secoriea Turner?
ATLANTA - The deadly shooting of Rayshard Brooks came in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not long after, several other police killings sparked national outrage, including the death of Ahmaud Arbery in south Georgia. The shooting death of Brooks set a domino chain of tragic events in motion.
Gunmen took over the Wendy’s parking lot where Brooks died on June 12, 2020. Weeks later, 8-year-old Secoriea Turner was also shot and killed there.
Since the shooting, the Atlanta Police Department has changed leadership twice. There's also a new mayor in City Hall.
What happened to Rayshard Brooks?
Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe the night of June 12, 2020, outside a Wendy's restaurant.
Police were responding to complaints of a man sleeping in a car drive-thru lane.
Body camera video shows Rolfe and former Atlanta police officer Devin Brosnan, having a calm conversation with Brooks for nearly 40 minutes. When the officers told Brooks he’d had too much to drink to be driving and tried to arrest him, Brooks resisted in a struggle caught on dash camera video. Brooks grabbed a taser from one of the officers and fled, firing it at Rolfe as he ran.
Rolfe fired his gun, and an autopsy found that Brooks was shot twice in the back.
Brooks had been married for eight years with three daughters and a stepson.
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Rayshard Brooks
Rayshard Brooks' previous encounters with law enforcement
In August 2014, Brooks was sentenced to a year in prison for false imprisonment, felony cruelty to children, and other charges.
Two years later, he was sentenced to an additional 12 months for violating his probation.
An arrest on June 12, 2020, could have resulted in the revocation of probation and a return to prison.
Brooks was actually interviewed in February 2020 about his two years in prison and difficulty finding work after being released.
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What happened to Garrett Rolfe and Devin Brosnan?
The Atlanta Police Department first fired Garrett Rolfe on June 17, 2020, then later reinstated him with back pay. He was charged with murder and is currently on administrative leave pending the outcome of his trial.
Authorities charged Officer Devin Brosnan with aggravated assault and violation of oath of office.
Officer Garrett Rolfe, who fired the fatal shots (left), and officer Devin Brosnan (right).
On August 23, 2023, charges were dropped against both men.
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On August 23, 2022, the officers announced lawsuits seeking monetary damages from the city, the former mayor, and police chief. The suit claims the city violated officers’ constitutional rights. Despite motions to have the case thrown out, as of May 30, the suit is still pending.
Their current employment status is not known.
Atlanta settles with Rayshard Brooks' estate
The city of Atlanta has unanimously agreed to settle with the estate of Rashard Brooks for $1 million on Nov. 21, 2023.
The matter was discussed during an executive session of the Atlanta City Council, which is not open to the public. Sources tell FOX 5 that the city attorney told council members it would cost more to defend the pending litigation than to settle with Brook’s widow, Tamika Miller.
Lawyers for the Brooks family said they were pleased to have come to a settlement.
How did 8-year-old Secoriea Turner die?
Secoriea Turner was shot and killed in an SUV near the same Wendy’s restaurant where Rayshard Brooks died weeks earlier.
Secoriea Turner was shot and killed on the 4th of July in Atlanta. (Atlanta Police Department)
According to the Atlanta Police Department, Secoreia was riding in a Jeep with her mother and an adult friend when they turned off the Downtown Connector onto University Avenue on the night of July 4, 2020.
Protesters had erected illegal barricades, according to authorities, encircling the Wendy's that became a gathering point after an Atlanta police officer shot and killed Rayshard Brooks in the restaurant parking lot days earlier.
Julian Jamal Conley and Jerrion Amari McKinney (Fulton County Sheriff's Office)
When the driver of the Jeep attempted to enter a liquor store parking lot in the 1200 block of Pryor Road, Atlanta Police said he was confronted by a group of armed individuals who had blocked the entrance. Investigators said at least two men fired multiple times at the vehicle, hitting the girl.
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Julian Conley and Jerrion McKinney were arrested in connection to the girl's death. Conley was charged with malice murder and felony murder in Secoriea’s killing, and both men face aggravated assault, gun and gang-related charges.
Prosecutors have said both Conley and McKinney are gang members who were involved in the violent demonstration.
Both men pleaded not guilty.
The two men appeared before a judge for a pre-trial motions hearing in May. There is currently no trial date set.
Conley also has had several charges filed against him for infractions alleged to have happened during his time at the Fulton County Jail.
Both men currently are being held at the jail.
Lawsuits filed after death of Secoriea Turner
The family friend who was driving the 8-year-old girl and her mother filed a lawsuit against the former Atlanta mayor, police chief and many others in January.
Omar Ivery was driving when the trio "encountered a makeshift roadblock on University Avenue" near a Wendy's restaurant "where armed individuals began walking towards the car," according to the lawsuit. Ivery said "one or more of the armed individuals immediately opened fire into the vehicle, with eight of those bullets piercing the car."
Secoriea, a rising third-grader at Kipp Ways Academy, was shot in the backseat. Ivery rushed Secoriea to Atlanta Medical Center, but her injuries were too severe. She died before any medical attention could be given.
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The lawsuit names the city of Atlanta, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant, Atlanta city council member Joyce Sheperd, Wendy's International and the company that owns the fast-food franchise as defendants.
The lawsuit alleges those named in the lawsuit allowed for the site surrounding the Wendy’s to turn into an "epicenter for protests, demonstrations, and violence, with little to no policing to keep the area under control" in the weeks following the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks by officers on June 12, 2020.
On May 9, Ivery's attorneys responded to attempts by the defendants to dismiss the lawsuit. The case is still pending.
Secoriea Turner’s family filed a similar lawsuit in June 2021.
Attorneys for Charmaine Turner said they would be seeking $12 million in damages from the city for the death of Secoriea Turner as well as an additional $4 million for property damage and injuries sustained by Turner's mother and her mother's boyfriend.
Currently, there is no judgment in either case.
Changes in Atlanta since the deaths of Rayshard Brooks and Secoriea Turner
Less than a day after Brooks’ death, former Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields stepped down. Shields is now chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department in Kentucky.
The mayor announced that former Assistant Police Chief Rodney Bryant would serve as the interim chief. Bryant, who came out of retirement to step in as police chief, was appointed as the full-time chief by then-mayor Kiesha Lance Bottoms in May 2021. Bryant would retire just over a year later.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum took the media on a tour of the old Atlanta Police Academy to highlight the need for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center on May 23, 2023. (FOX 5)
Darin Schierbaum was then named as interim Atlanta police chief. Three month later, he would be officially named to the post by Mayor Andre Dickens.
After a term filled with social turmoil, Bottoms announced she would not seek reelection. She would go on to serve in President Joe Biden's administration and appear as political consultant.
Current Mayor Andre Dickens beat Felicia Moore to succeed Bottoms as mayor.
Then Fulton County D.A. Paul Howard announced charges against Brosnan and Rolfe days after the Brooks' death. Fani Willis beat Howard in a race for the district attorney’s office and took over in 2021. Willis requested to recuse herself from the case against Rolfe.
A special prosecutor appointed by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced he would be dismissing the case against the two Atlanta police officers concluding "the use of deadly force was objectively reasonable."
In September 2021, in an effort to combat low morale, a manpower shortage, and an aging academy building, the Atlanta City Council approved the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center in DeKalb County. Opponents to the facility dubbed it "Cop City".
During a funding vote last week, the council including language in the ordinance that training there will focus on de-escalation, diversity, and mental health crisis. It also asserts that it will provide training with emphasis on protecting free speech. However, it does put training to combat gang and gun violence, including mass shootings, and street and stunt driving events.