‘Murderer’ cop who shot Rayshard Brooks ‘begged him to stay alive and told friends he didn’t mean to pull the trigger’
BODYCAM footage shows Garrett Rolfe, the former police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks in the back, telling Brooks to stay alive as officers administer CPR.
Rolfe, 27, shot Brooks, 27 twice in the back on June 12 outside a fast-food restaurant in Atlanta, where Brooks had fallen asleep in the drive-through.
"Mr Brooks, keep breathing," Rolfe can be heard saying as he stands near Brooks, who is surrounded by kneeling officers, some of whom are performing CPR.
Rolfe can then be heard telling another officer that the bodycam he's carrying isn't his, and asking if he has blood on his elbow, expressing concern over whether it is his own blood or Brooks'.
"I felt blood on my elbow, I don't know if it's mine or his, I want to get it off," he says, before confirming, "Yeah, I'm good."
An unnamed friend of Rolfe's told the that the then-cop didn't want to shoot Brooks, but feared Brooks might kill him.
One said: "Garret didn't want to do it. He had been punched and was dazed. Brooks had gone to tase him and he said that he knew that if he went down Brooks might kill him."
Rolfe was fired shortly after the incident and now faces 11 criminal charges, including murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
If convicted, he could possibly face life in prison or the death penalty.
Officer Rolfe was charged with murder on Wednesday as it emerged video from scene showed the victim was "kicked while dying" on the ground.
Brooks allegedly failed a sobriety test, took a cop's taser and tried to run from authorities.
Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields resigned less than a day after Brooks was shot.