Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard was ousted Tuesday in a runoff election, losing to his former deputy Fani Willis.
Howard quickly charged Garrett Rolfe, a former Atlanta police officer, with murder in June, just five days after Rolfe shot a suspect who was pointing a Taser at him.
Rayshard Brooks, the suspect, died at the scene.
Howard focused on how Brooks didnt appear to pose a threat for the first part of an interaction with police. After Rolfe and another officer tried arresting Brooks, the man resisted arrest and stole one of their Tasers, firing it at the officers multiple times.
Rolfes lawyer said the officer heard what he thought was a gunshot and drew his weapon in a shooting that was described as driven by protocol by Steven Gaynor, the president of Cobb County Fraternal Order of Police, a police union.
Many outsiders expressed concern about how fast Howard moved to charge Rolfe, including Attorney General William Barr.
“I certainly would have liked to have seen the Georgia Bureau of Investigation complete their investigation before charges were brought, and also, the use of a grand jury,” Barr said when asked about the case, referring to the bureaus independent probe into the shooting.
“The grand jury process provides some protection to have the citizens, in a group, decide that there has been a crime committed. And there was no grand jury used in this case,” he added.
Howard is under investigation himself by the bureau, known as the GBI. Investigators are looking at a salary supplement Howard and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed negotiated earlier this year as well as grand jury subpoenas issued by Howards office without a grand jury in place, Fox 5 reported. Howard admitted last week that he didnt properly disclose a role with two nonprofits that paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars and agreed to pay a $6,500 fine.
Howard, a Democrat who was in office for over 20 years, conceded the race late Tuesday.
Fani T. Willis is your Fulton County District Attorney – Electhttps://t.co/jJbaGedHD4
— Fani Willis For Fulton District Attorney (@FaniWillisForDA) August 12, 2020
Fani T. Willis is your Fulton County District Attorney – Elect“Ive worked hard for the 23 years thRead More From Source
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