Revealed: officer who killed Rayshard Brooks accused of covering up 2015 shooting

Garrett Rolfe was fired by the Atlanta police department following what officials called the “unjustified” killing of Brooks on Friday. Rolfe shot Brooks twice in the back as Brooks ran away after a scuffle with officers when they attempted to arrest him. It was among a recent spate of killings of black men by white police officers, which have ignited a national uprising against police brutality and racism.

In August 2015, Rolfe and two other officers opened fire on Jackie Jermaine Harris, who they chased after he was caught driving a stolen truck, the Guardian can reveal after reviewing court documents on the incident.

However, the shooting was not reported by the police involved. Harris, like Brooks, is African American.

Harris rammed a police vehicle and officers shot at him several times inside the truck, striking Harris once and collapsing his lung. Harris survived and later pleaded guilty to charges including theft, property damage, fleeing arrest and damaging a police vehicle.

Judge Doris L Downs, during a 2016 court hearing, called the case a “disaster” and said “it’s the wildest case I’ve seen in my 34 years here.”

Downs said she was so troubled by officers failing to report the shooting that she wanted the matter investigated.


https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/17/rayshard-brooks-shooting-police-officer-cover-up-accusations-garrett-rolfe

Come off it...!


How on earth would it be possible for such an incident to not have been 'reported'... when it would surely have been well documented for there to have been charges brought and the criminal to have pleaded guilty...?

Tommy Monk wrote:Come off it...!

How on earth would it be possible for such an incident to not have been 'reported'... when it would surely have been well documented for there to have been charges brought and the criminal to have pleaded guilty...?

Cops kept quiet. Who is going to tell?

So a bloke rams them and they shoot him... And none of that is reported although ithe man is arrested and charged...?

There were court documents, so there had to be reports.

I'm not sure what not reported means in this case. Not reported to the media?

Maddog wrote:There were court documents, so there had to be reports.  

I'm not sure what not reported means in this case.  Not reported to the media?

Court documents begin with police reports. If the police don't document something, it never appears in the record.

It's up to the defense attorney to draw out facts such as this. But, many black suspects don't get defense attorneys, or the police get them into plea agreements before a public defender can reach them.

Then, with a plea agreement in place, who is going to disrupt things with details over how the guy got shot?

Neat trick, eh?

The shooting appeared in court documents.

Maddog wrote:There were court documents, so there had to be reports.  

I'm not sure what not reported means in this case.  Not reported to the media?

“None of the police put in the report that they shot the man – none of them. And they sent him to Grady [Memorial Hospital] with collapsed lungs and everything, and the report doesn’t mention it,” Downs said.

Didgee wrote:

Maddog wrote:There were court documents, so there had to be reports.  

I'm not sure what not reported means in this case.  Not reported to the media?

“None of the police put in the report that they shot the man – none of them. And they sent him to Grady [Memorial Hospital] with collapsed lungs and everything, and the report doesn’t mention it,” Downs said.

Ok, that's just weird. It's obvious they shot him. Its not like it was going to remain a secret with a paper trail throughout the system.

You just have to get it past a plea agreement. Nobody cares after that.