Atlanta Police walkout following murder charge against officer who shot Rayshard Brooks

[babylonsister]

They don't get it at all.


Crime and public safety Metro ATL
Atlanta Police walkout following murder charge against officer who shot Rayshard Brooks
George Chidi Jun 17, 2020


This story has been updated.

Atlanta, GA — The head of Atlanta’s police union confirmed Wednesday that officers from the Atlanta Police Department in Zones 3 and 6 walked off the job Wednesday afternoon.

Vince Champion, southeast regional director of the International Brotherhood of Police officers, said that police officers had stopped answering calls midshift, in response to charges against Officer Garrett Rolfe who is accused of murdering Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta.

“The union, we would never advocate this. We wouldn’t advocate a blue flu,” Champion said. “We don’t know the numbers. Apparently we’re learning that command staff are asking outlying counties for support and aren’t getting it.”

Decaturish has calls out to public affairs officers in Gwinnett, DeKalb and Cobb counties for confirmation. A message to the spokesperson for Atlanta Police was not immediately returned.

Zones 3 and 6 cover south Atlanta, where Rolfe killed Rayshard Brooks after a June 12 DUI arrest turned into an altercation. Rolfe fired three bullets at Brooks as he fled with a taser in hand. Video of the shooting suggests Brooks pointed the taser at officers as he fled.

more...

https://decaturish.com/2020/06/atlanta-police-walkout-following-murder-charge-against-officer-who-shot-rayshard-brooks/

[Thomas Hurt]

1. Fired them too. Screw the blue flu, f**k the dirty cops, and anyone who supports them.

I bet the MAGAts love unions now.

[RainCaster]

7. Don't fire them, but a month off unpaid would be a good start

Other things to consider:
1. A letter of reprimand in the record of each.
2. A demotion of one rank and one pay grade.

[Jamastiene]

25. Fire them and hire people who do not support that kind of disregard for human life.

There was some nasty stuff that happened after they shot Mr. Brooks.

1. They knew the taser was spent, not working. So, he was still not threat to them when they shot him in the back.
2. As he lay dying, they stood on his shoulders.
3. They also kicked him as he lay dying.
4. They did not administer medical assistance after shooting him, even though that is the official policy to do so.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213608903
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8432521/Atlanta-officers-involved-shooting-death-Rayshard-Brooks-learn-charges-today.html

Fire them. Yes. It's not like there are a lot of qualifications people need to become cops in America, compared to other countries. Hire people who do not support that kind of disregard for human life instead.

[PTWB]

44. Fire them. We don't NEED them.

[LiberalFighter]

69. If they are going to put a corrupt cop over the best interests of the community.

Fire them!

[BlueSpot]

74. No. Fire them

And when we begin to restructure police departments, they can reapply for their jobs. And if they have bad records, they don't get them.

How many times over recent years have we heard about people needing to reapply for their own jobs? I always thought that sucked, but, if it is OK for regular jobs, why wouldn't it be OK for police jobs? Let's take the opportunity to do this and set some standards along the way.

[soothsayer]

2. They're making me want to say "Defund the police"

[The Magistrate]

3. I Expect This Is Not Legal, Ma'am

Most states prohibit strikes or job actions by police. It ought to be grounds for firing.

[Brother Buzz]

54. I should think so, and it gives Mayor Bottoms an opportunity to capture tomorrow's headlines...

announcing the all new, and improve, Atlanta police force.

[MichMan]

65. Same for teachers also

Not allowed to strike, but sickouts usually occur without any discipline

[handmade34]

4. okay

if enough officers offended quit/walk out... maybe the problem of police violence will be easier to solve

[Jamastiene]

27. It's not like there are tons of qualifications to become a cop in America

compared to other countries. Let the cops with no regard for human life and no belief in dignity for the dying walk out, get fired, and hire people who do not think that way instead.

[Throckmorton]

36. And you can be too smart.

[link:http://abcnews.go.com/us/court-oks-barring-high-iqs-cops/story?id=95836|

This happened in New London CT.

[Jamastiene]

42. Wow. That is really true?

I have heard people say it before, but I always thought it was a joke, because cops ask the same questions over and over again even if you are the one who called them. It's really true. Thank you for the link.

[Throckmorton]

76. Yes, it was front page news here in Connecticut

I recall he was even on Letterman discussing it.

[uponit7771]

30. +1

[Nevilledog]

5. Yup. Tons of good police, my ass.

What they're doing is saying Blue Lives Matter more than anybody else.

And triple bullshit on the union "disavowing" the walkout. I bet it was their idea in the first place.

Fuck em.

[Jamastiene]

33. They are really saying is that ONLY Blue Lives Matter.

Their disregard for human life and dignity for the dying is also a huge issue. The things they did to Rayshard Brooks as he lay dying are disgusting too. They should not have authority over a gnat, much less a human being's life.

[Nevilledog]

34. Absolutely.

[2naSalit]

6. They can be replaced. ...nt

[unblock]

8. So the police are telling us even they have no faith in the system

[StarfishSaver]

9. Oh, they get it.

That's why they walked out.

They're watching their world change drastically and they don't like it.

[Jamastiene]

28. THIS. n/t

[uponit7771]

31. +1

[madaboutharry]

10. Shameful that they can't see wrong staring them in the face.

There is something deeply wrong with any person who can not see that Mr. Brooks was murdered. These police officers who walked off today don’t know the difference between right and wrong.

[angstlessk]

11. Has anyone seen that video?

Video of the shooting suggests Brooks pointed the taser at officers as he fled.

[Phoenix61]

19. Per DA Howard the taser had been fired

twice so was unusable. I doubt Brooks knew that but the cops damn sure did. The video also showed them kicking and standing on him for over 2 minutes rather than calling for medical help.

[misanthrope]

77. The last part is the clincher

That did them in.

[Maraya1969]

23. Besides being fired twice as others have said it is a damn taser. Cops shoot them at people all the

time. They are mostly not lethal and should not be a reason to fire at someone. Plus he was running away.

It's like saying it's OK to shoot and kill a civilian if he is aiming a beebee gun at you.

[Jamastiene]

29. The taser was spent/discharged and not working. The cops knew that. n/t

[cayugafalls]

32. The Taser was unusable and his arm was pointed up in the air.

And he was running forward. The taser was known to be expired as it has only two shots. The SOP of the APD is that unless the officer is threatened with mortal injury he is not allowed to fire during a chase.

Not only did Officer Rolfe, fire his service weapon 3 times, he then said "I got him" and went to the limp body of Mr. Brooks and kicked him and then sat on his back for over 2 minutes, while the other officer stood on his back.

Pointing a used taser is not enough of an excuse for deadly force. Pointing an unused taser is not an excuse for deadly force, since he was almost 20 feet away from the officer and running full speed. The officer was not in danger. The officer created the danger.

[StarfishSaver]

35. Seriously?

You're still making the "he pointed the taser at them" argument?

Did you see the DA's press conference?

[panader0]

56. Tasers have either a wire shot or a touch shot. The wires are typically 15 feet max.

In this case, as the taser had already been fired and not reloaded with another cartridge,
the taser was a harmless piece of plastic. It was murder.

[nolabear]

79. A taser won't do much from three car lengths away.

Not to mention it had been discharged, they knew he was otherwise unarmed, and they assaulted him after he was down.

[Phoenix61]

12. For those who argue about whether it's

systemic or not I’d say this answers the question pretty clearly. They should be fired as they clearly don’t understand when deadly force should be used. Hint: not on someone holding a taser that has already been discharged twice so it is useless until it’s recharged.

[drray23]

13. Good. Solve the problem by rooting out bad cops.

those that are walking out because they are upset they can't kill black people like they used to deserve to be kicked out of the force anyway.

[Captain Zero]

80. Yes for the cops that walked off. Fire any for which this a 3rd or 4th fireable offense.

They need to get their stuff turned in...

[Goodheart]

14. Well, bye.

[Jamastiene]

15. Those cops have some nerve. Most people won't see this other information.

I literally just came from reading this article on DU:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213608903

to your post. Most people won't see the other article to know how deranged the cops who killed him are or that they KNEW that taser was spent and not working. Most people won't know they stood on the man's shoulders as he lay dying.

I wish there was a way to collect several very informative related DU links together to show people more information.

Those cops have some nerve walking out after what I read in the other article. Maybe they should stay walked out and let them hire some cops who are not complicit in that kind of brutality and mentally deranged thinking. Good riddance if they stay out.

[angstlessk]

16. Has anyone seen that video?

Video of the shooting suggests Brooks pointed the taser at officers as he fled.

[StarfishSaver]

38. So what? He might as well have pointed a stick at them

Neither would have been justification for the police to shoot him.

[stillcool]

40. yeah...no.

He said the investigation had taken into account both officers' bodycam and dashcam footage, Wendy's surveillance footage, civilian cell phone footage and several eye witnesses – three of whom were present at the conference today.

Howard said that Brooks presented no threat to the officers who knew that the Taser he had stolen had been deployed twice and therefore rendered useless.

Howard stated, 'Once Mr Brooks was shot there is an Atlanta policy that requires that the officers have to provide timely medical attention.

'But after Mr Brooks was shot for 2 minutes and 12 seconds there was no medical attention applied to Mr Brooks.

'What we discovered is during the 2 minutes and 12 seconds that officer Rolfe kicked Mr Brooks while he laid on the ground fighting for his life.

'The other officer, officer Brosnan stood on Mr Brooks's shoulders while he was there struggling for his life

He concluded, 'Based on the way these officers conducted themselves that the demeanor immediately after the shooting did not reflect any fear or danger but reflected other kinds of emotion.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8432521/Atlanta-officers-involved-shooting-death-Rayshard-Brooks-learn-charges-today.htm
As well as his colleague's testimony, Howard said that his office had used Rolfe's own words against him.
He said that they had based their view that his response was 'excessive' on what he called 'an excited utterance, ' – the unfiltered statement picked up by audio in the immediate aftermath of the shooting when Rolfe said, 'I got him.'
l

[Nevilledog]

45. Taser was spent and is a non-lethal weapon.

Might want to read up on the DA's press conference.

What do you think you understand about this situation that the DA doesn't?

[Blue_true]

58. Did you read several posts that explained why that was not an issue and

that the cops knew that? Also, after the guy was shot, they stood on him instead of immediately calling for medical attention.

All cops at the scene of the killing should be fired and the cops that walked out should also be fired and replaced by people that 1) want to work in Atlanta and 2) have respect for the people that they are policing and don't shoot people and stand on them like trophy kills.

[demtenjeep]

17. sounds like they can build a new police force the right way

walking off the job means you quit-there goes your pension

[bluestarone]

21. AGREE here

They should lose EVERYTHING, after given one chance to return!

[Nevilledog]

47. Wouldn't even give them one chance.

Those walking out are choosing the wrong hill to take a stand on.

Why would you want to welcome back cops whose judgment is that off?

[bluestarone]

49. Agree with you also!

Just thinking legally they might have to give them an opportunity? If not the FIRE the fuckers!!

[Nevilledog]

50. Make them bring in a Drs note saying they were ill.

They intentionally walked off to try and create problems for the citizens. If you're willing to lie about being sick just cuz you're butt hurt, you've shown you have no integrity.

[Blue_true]

60. Yes.

They abandoned their jobs. Therefore they resigned. Mayors need to get really firm with the blue flu shit, they walk off the job, they should be treated as if they resigned.

[Demovictory9]

67. +1

[johnp3907]

18. Keep walking.

[mopinko]

20. gmta i was about to say good, but this is better.

[Sherman A1]

22. Precisely

Fire each and everyone of them. They walked off the job so they have terminated themselves.

[Blue_true]

62. Exactly. Time to draw a line with that type of behavior from cops.

No other group, Firefighters, EMTs, Nurses, Doctors pull that shit because they care about citizen's safety and know what outcomes their actions can bring.

[roamer65]

24. Fire all of them.

Revoke their pensions and benefits.

Teach them about “at will” employment.

[demtenjeep]

48. no need to fire them, they quit

they give up all benefits and pension


they quit

[oasis]

78. True that. nt

[mshasta]

26. they are mafia brotherhood......

[JI7]

37. GOOD , they make it easier to get rid of the worst ones and they should NEVER

be hired in any law enforcement jobs ever again.

[TCJ70]

39. The DA's press conference was pretty clear that Rolfe was in the wrong...

...I changed my mind on the whole thing after watching it.

[Owl]

43. Fire them.

[Captain Stern]

46. Good.

The kind of cops that will quit over something like this are exactly the kind of folks that shouldn't have been cops in the first place.

Good riddance.

[Blue_true]

63. Exactly. nt

[crickets]

75. Agreed. nt

[tonedevil]

51. The police are defunding themselves. /nt

[RhodeIslandOne]

52. Someone get them a McMuffin

[sarisataka]

53. Is this story true?

Most reports are tweets which point back to this one source, which cannot be reached.

I would think this would be breaking news, at least in Atlanta media

[KentuckyWoman]

64. Look again it's all over Atlanta News.

https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/atlanta-police-walk-out-rumors-not-accurate-department-says/85-78ea71bc-3f36-4ce8-9557-86bfa2353c7c

Atlanta Police spokesman Sgt. John Chafee told 11Alive that suggestions that multiple officers from each of the department's zones had walked off the job were "inaccurate."

"However," Chafee said, "the department is experiencing a higher than usual number of call outs with the incoming shift."

https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/atlanta-police-disputes-rumors-of-mass-officer-walk-outs-says-seeing-higher-than-usual-call-outs

A statement sent to FOX 5 Wednesday evening reads:

"Earlier suggestions that multiple officers from each zone had walked off the job were inaccurate. However, department is experiencing a higher than usual number of call outs with the incoming shift. We have enough resources to maintain operations and remain able to respond to incidents throughout the city."

[sarisataka]

66. So to use the Snopes ratings

it would be a 'Mixture'- not quite true, but not entirely false

[MichMan]

55. Can they be fired for calling in sick?

Teachers have sickouts from time to time and I dont recall them losing their jobs.

[herding cats]

57. Toodles!

They need to be culled from service.

[bobbieinok]

59. So cops will extort a city if their actions have consequences---good to know!

[KentuckyWoman]

61. This is where the absolute letter of the contract comes in handy for the City.

And contract negotiations on the next one are going to be a bitch.

[StarfishSaver]

68. Betty Bowers ...

Link to tweet

[Takket]

70. fire them all and recruit a new police force exclusivly from the community......

that's what rethugs always say to do whenever workers get upset right? fire them all? they should be pleased with this idea.

[Flaleftist]

71. Buh bye.

[Lancero]

72. You think that cases like this would showcase how wrong the apologists are about it being...

Just a couple of bad apples.

[NutmegYankee]

73. Handle 'me just like Reagan did the air traffic controllers. nt