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The family of Rayshard Brooks, who was killed at the hands of police over two years ago, has reached a $1 million settlement with the city of Atlanta, according to their lawyers.
“The family of Rayshard Brooks is pleased to have reached a settlement with the city of Atlanta that resolves their civil case. This grieving family has been through so much during this process. Although the children of Mr. Brooks have lost their father, settling the case will undoubtedly assist them with future plans as they come of age,” the family's legal team said in a statement following the settlement, per CNN.
“While we are disappointed that prosecutors didn’t pursue a criminal case against the officers involved in Mr. Brooks’ death, we continue to hold out hope that the Dept. of Justice will intervene in this matter,” the statement continued.
The fatal incident unfolded on June 12, 2020, when Atlanta officers Garrett Rolfe and Devin Brosnan attempted to arrest Brooks, 27, for DUI in a Wendy's parking lot.
Brooks engaged in a struggle with officers, grabbed one of their Tasers, and attempted to flee the scene, according to law enforcement officials.
Police say Brooks pointed the Taser at Rolfe's head, and officers responded with shots that killed him.
Following the shooting, Rolfe was charged with 11 crimes including felony murder, aggravated assault, and more. Brosnan also faced charges of aggravated assault and violation of oath of office.
In August, Georgia special prosecutor Pete Skandalakis announced that the officers' charges were being dismissed, citing that their use of force was reasonable.
The fatal police shooting, which occurred less than three weeks after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, sparked protests across Atlanta and beyond amid the nation's racial reckoning.
When dropping the charges against the officers involved in Brooks' death, Skandalakis said he didn't believe the shooting was race-motivated. The nation's racial reckoning and protests against police brutality in the summer of 2020 led to a strong reaction to Brooks' death, the prosecutor said.
“This is not a case in which an officer was kneeling on a prone suspect for nine minutes, nor was it like the Ahmaud Arbery case, where armed citizens were chasing a young man through a neighborhood,” Skandalakis previously said.
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