Rudy Giuliani on Rayshard Brooks’ case: Released video may “justify this use of force”

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says that the shooting of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta may be justified after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation released a video of Brooks grabbing an officer’s taser and fleeing with it. 
• Giuliani added that the Atlanta incident is different from the circumstances surrounding George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.
• Brooks’ death sparked widespread unrest in Atlanta with protesters setting Wendy’s restaurant on fire and blocking an interstate road, stopping traffic.

While the world is in protest against police brutality after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, another case of police-related death sparks unrest in Atlanta.

Over the weekend, a Wendy’s outlet was torched and roads were blocked as part of the protests over the shooting of African-American Rayshard Brooks.

According to a video released by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Brooks struggled with officers after failing a sobriety test and later grabbed an officer’s taser and ran with it.

While the officers were in pursuit, Brooks turned and appeared to fire the Taser at one point and officers fired three times at him.

“I do not believe that this was a justified use of deadly force. While there may be debate as to whether this was an appropriate use of deadly force, I firmly believe that there is a clear distinction between what you can do and what you should do,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said.

Officers involved in the Brooks case have been put under administrative leave, Devin Brosnan, and another one was terminated, Garrett Rolfe.  Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields resigned.

All four officers in the Floyd case have been fired with three charged with aiding and abetting while Officer Derek Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder.   

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump’s lawyers, said that the video of the encounter may “justify this use of force.”

As Giuliani wrote on Twitter, “Whatever the Atlanta shooting is, it is not the George Floyd case. The only responsible position is to suspend judgment until a full investigation is done.”  He also called Wendy’s fire arson and not a protest.

Floyd died at the hands of the Minneapolis Police while facing down on the ground, unarmed and handcuffed.  Brooks fled with an officer’s Taser and resisted arrest. 

Source: New York Post