Officer Devin Brosnan spoke about the fatal incident Tuesday hours before Rayshard Brooks was laid to rest.
What We Know:
- Brosnan was one of the officers involved in the death of Brooks. District attorney Paul Howard charged Brosnan with aggravated assault, after video footage showed the officer’s foot on Brooks’ back. Brosnan was placed on administrative duty and is free on a $50,000 signature bond.
- Brosnan admitted to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he did place his foot on Brooks’ back, due to fear for his own safety. The officer went on to say that he wouldn’t have operated any differently that night. “I feel like my side wasn’t really heard and given the short time frame it’s hard for anybody to understand all the facts and the whole circumstances around it.”
- Brosnan was the first officer to arrive at the Wendy’s parking lot on June 12, after receiving a call that Brooks had fallen asleep in the drive-thru. Garret Rolfe would soon arrive and conduct a field sobriety and breathalyzer test on Brooks. When he failed both tests, the officers struggled to handcuff Brooks.
- During the scuffle, Brooks obtained Brosnan’s taser, and knocked the officer down causing a concussion. Brooks then aimed the taser at Rolfe who fired two fatal shots. Brosnan claims he did not know all that had happened because of his concussion. “I heard gunfire,” Brosnan told the AJC. “I know he still has my taser. I know there’s a crowd. I got up to him and I’m trying to figure out what’s going on. You need to make sure you’re safe before you can help or do anything else.”
- After Brooks was shot, Brosnan placed his foot on his back, then removed it once he realized Brooks couldn’t reach his taser again. “It’s totally just an instinctual thing for my own safety,” he said. “When I realized I was safe that’s when I take it off. In no way shape or form was I trying to hurt this man.”
- “At the end of the day, someone lost their life. To me, it’s heartbreaking no matter the circumstances, no matter what,” Brosnan said to interviewers. “When anybody dies truly is something you never want to see happen, to have happen. I can’t imagine what a family would go through.”
Brosnan says that he is still willing to cooperate in court and answer any questions about what happened that night.
