On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “AC360,” Fulton County, DA District Attorney Paul Howard Jr. stated that the charges of murder, felony murder, and voluntary manslaughter are being considered in the killing of Rayshard Brooks, charges are being considered for both officers, and that while he thinks evidence will show Brooks grabbed a taser, the key is what kind of threat Brooks posed at the moment of the shooting.
Howard said, “There are three major charges that we are considering. The first charge being murder, which addresses an intent to kill. The second charge, felony murder, which occurs when death arises out of an underlying felony, and in this case, the underlying felony would be an aggravated assault. And the third charge that we’re considering is voluntary manslaughter, which is a death in a heat of passion.”
He added, “[W]e are considering both of the officers. We’re not just considering one of the officers.” And that the charges that are being explored “could possibly be lodged against both of the officers involved.”
Howard further stated that when he watched the video, knowing that Brooks ended up being killed, he expected Brooks to be “someone who was resistant, someone who did not cooperate with the police, who was not very friendly. But that was exactly the opposite of what happened with Mr. Brooks. He was very compliant, very casual, very informal. And so, when you see it, it’s kind of difficult to wrap your hands around why he ends up getting killed. So, I think that what it does, it creates this kind of classical example for police departments all around the country when we’re talking about de-escalation. Because there’s really no reason for Mr. Brooks to end up dead because he fell asleep in the drive-through or that he was intoxicated, whatever those incidents might have added up to, it certainly didn’t merit the final outcome in this case.”
Howard concluded, “I think the video and the evidence will show that he grabbed the taser, but the critical point that we are examining and the critical point, I believe, in this case, is, what happened at the exact moment of the shooting? Because at that time, under Georgia law, unless Mr. Brooks posed an imminent threat of bodily harm, as I sometimes say it, colloquially, just to say, was the police officer — was it necessary for him to shoot Mr. Brooks to save his life or to save someone else’s life? Because if Mr. Brooks was shot for some other reason, then it is not justified.”
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