Atlanta Police Body Cam - Approaching Rayhard Brooks - WXIA - 11 Alive The Atlanta police murdering of Rayshard Brooks and the Minneapolis police murdering of George Floyd are both horrendous acts. But, in some ways, the Brooks murder is more informative than the Floyd murder. The Brooks murder, captured by eight videos, shows how the contact between the police and a black man can degenerate into violence. This murder reveals how older officers socialize younger officers into the “blue warrior culture;” how that blue warrior culture calls for the law to be enforced for blacks; and how this murder could have been avoided.
Brooks was drinking and fell asleep in the drive-through lane of a Wendy’s fast-food restaurant. After failing to wake Brooks, one of the employees called the police. Officer Devin Brosnan arrived at the Wendy’s, woke Brooks, and had him move his car to a parking space. Brosnan then called Officer Garrett Rolfe to administer sobriety field tests. During the wait for Rolfe, Brosnan and Brooks talked casually about how Brooks was feeling and how much he had had to drink. Brosnan wondered if Brooks could sleep it off in his car.
When Rolfe, the senior and more experienced officer, arrived, the casual conversation continued. But there was a subtle change in how the officers treated Brooks. Rolfe asked if Brooks had any weapons on him, and when Brooks said no, asked if he could pat him down. Brooks, at first reluctant, agreed that Rolfe could search him. Rolfe then asked Brooks to do several motor tasks and then asked Brooks if he would submit to a breathalyzer test. After first refusing, Brooks admitted that he had been drinking and complied. Rolfe administered the test and then said, “we think you have had too much to drink.” He grabbed Brooks’ arm and pulled it behind his back to handcuff him.
Brooks was drinking and fell asleep in the drive-through lane of a Wendy’s fast-food restaurant. After failing to wake Brooks, one of the employees called the police. Officer Devin Brosnan arrived at the Wendy’s, woke Brooks, and had him move his car to a parking space. Brosnan then called Officer Garrett Rolfe to administer sobriety field tests. During the wait for Rolfe, Brosnan and Brooks talked casually about how Brooks was feeling and how much he had had to drink. Brosnan wondered if Brooks could sleep it off in his car.
When Rolfe, the senior and more experienced officer, arrived, the casual conversation continued. But there was a subtle change in how the officers treated Brooks. Rolfe asked if Brooks had any weapons on him, and when Brooks said no, asked if he could pat him down. Brooks, at first reluctant, agreed that Rolfe could search him. Rolfe then asked Brooks to do several motor tasks and then asked Brooks if he would submit to a breathalyzer test. After first refusing, Brooks admitted that he had been drinking and complied. Rolfe administered the test and then said, “we think you have had too much to drink.” He grabbed Brooks’ arm and pulled it behind his back to handcuff him.
Brooks broke loose, and a scuffle ensued. The three wound up on the ground with the officers saying, “quit fighting, or we will tase you.” Brooks grabbed Brosnan’s taser, broke away from the officers, and started running across the parking lot. Rolfe pursued Brooks while Brosnan, suffering from a blow to his head, was still on the ground. Rolfe fired his taser at Brooks’ back. Brooks turned, and the taser in his hand flashed. Rolfe, dropped his taser, pulled his gun, and fired three times. Brooks fell to the ground. According to Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, in one of the eight videos Howard had obtained, Rolfe was observed kicking Brooks. Brosnan approached the fallen Brooks, stood on Brooks’ shoulders, apparently to ensure that Brooks did not rise.
A basic rule of the blue warrior culture that Rolfe taught Brosnan was that police must enforce the law against blacks as harshly as permissible. The sobriety tests resulted in Rolfe categorizing Brooks as driving drunk. The friendly conversation that Brosnan and Brooks had had no longer mattered. Any concern for Brooks that Brosnan had expressed was meaningless. Absent the extenuating circumstances of a shared community, Rolfe had to arrest Brooks. Would Rolfe have believed it was necessary to arrest anyone – a fellow officer, a friend, or neighbor – who he might see as a member of his community?
Was the murder inevitable? We do not know why Brooks ran. Perhaps, he feared an outstanding warrant or some other legal issue. Or, maybe he did not want to disappoint his daughters because he was spending the weekend in jail. We also do not know why Rolfe felt it was necessary to murder Brooks. We do know that the Atlanta Police had trained Rolfe in de-escalation techniques. And Rolfe did act professionally until he failed to tell Brooks why he was under arrest.
After Brooks ran, Rolfe’s professionalism melted away. The Atlanta Police policy said he was not supposed to fire his taser at someone running away. He fired it at Brooks. Policy and the law said he was not supposed to shoot someone running from him. He fired three times, hitting Brooks twice and the car of innocent bystanders once. And once Brooks was down, Rolfe kicked him. Those kicks were against law, policy, and humanity. But they may be telling us why Rolfe treated Brooks’ transgression in such an open-and-shut manner.
The way to avoid excessive police violence may have less to do with de-escalation training and more to do with the blue warrior culture, which excludes people it defines as unworthy. Officers are needed who view the people they police as valued members of their community. If they can be recruited, the blue warrior culture will crumble if the police leadership and community support them.
A basic rule of the blue warrior culture that Rolfe taught Brosnan was that police must enforce the law against blacks as harshly as permissible. The sobriety tests resulted in Rolfe categorizing Brooks as driving drunk. The friendly conversation that Brosnan and Brooks had had no longer mattered. Any concern for Brooks that Brosnan had expressed was meaningless. Absent the extenuating circumstances of a shared community, Rolfe had to arrest Brooks. Would Rolfe have believed it was necessary to arrest anyone – a fellow officer, a friend, or neighbor – who he might see as a member of his community?
Was the murder inevitable? We do not know why Brooks ran. Perhaps, he feared an outstanding warrant or some other legal issue. Or, maybe he did not want to disappoint his daughters because he was spending the weekend in jail. We also do not know why Rolfe felt it was necessary to murder Brooks. We do know that the Atlanta Police had trained Rolfe in de-escalation techniques. And Rolfe did act professionally until he failed to tell Brooks why he was under arrest.
After Brooks ran, Rolfe’s professionalism melted away. The Atlanta Police policy said he was not supposed to fire his taser at someone running away. He fired it at Brooks. Policy and the law said he was not supposed to shoot someone running from him. He fired three times, hitting Brooks twice and the car of innocent bystanders once. And once Brooks was down, Rolfe kicked him. Those kicks were against law, policy, and humanity. But they may be telling us why Rolfe treated Brooks’ transgression in such an open-and-shut manner.
The way to avoid excessive police violence may have less to do with de-escalation training and more to do with the blue warrior culture, which excludes people it defines as unworthy. Officers are needed who view the people they police as valued members of their community. If they can be recruited, the blue warrior culture will crumble if the police leadership and community support them.