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This week it was revealed that the officer who shot Rayshard Brooks had been reported for misconduct a whopping 12 times – including an allegation of excessive use of force – before he killed the unarmed 27-year-old.
READ MORE: Rayshard Brooks’ family reveals Tyler Perry will pay for his funeral
According to disciplinary records obtained by The Atlanta Journal Constitution, in the six years that Garrett Rolfe had been a member of the Atlanta Police Department, a dozen complaints were filed against him, with the police department opting to dismiss nine of them.
Those charges include five vehicle accidents, four citizen complaints, a firearm discharge in August 2015, and an allegation of excessive use of force with a gun in 2017 that resulted in him only receiving a reprimand.
It wasn’t until Rolfe shot and killed Brooks in the parking lot of a Wendy’s on June 12 that the department finally decided to fire him as he waits to find out if he’ll be charged for the killing.
“I could have told people, ‘I guarantee you this officer has had issues in the past.’ It’s normally that situation,” L. Chris Stewart, an attorney for Brooks’ family said Monday night of the former officer’s record.
READ MORE: Rep. Maxine Waters tells police: ‘Do not kill another unarmed Black person’
“You know who causes issues or who has had prior issues or who has complaints. A lot of them don’t get justified and then they stay on the force,” he continued, adding, “So, it wasn’t a surprise.”
Monday, hundreds of demonstrators marched to the state Capitol in protest of police brutality. During Monday’s press conference, the victim’s family also revealed that Tyler Perry would be paying for his funeral.
READ MORE: Rayshard Brooks autopsy reveals he died of two gunshots to the back
“We’re not only pleading with justice, we’re pleading for change,” explained Brooks’ niece, Chastity Evans. “Zone 3 where my uncle was killed was the same zone we represented and loved all our lives. We stood with the Atlanta police department when they were just tearing up our city and said this doesn’t happen here, leave them alone. And here we are three weeks later: those same police took something from our family that we’ll never get back: Rayshard Brooks.”
(Photos: Brooks family, Atlanta PD)
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