https://decaturish.com/2020/06/atla...gainst-officer-who-shot-rayshard-brooks/This story has been updated.
Atlanta, GA — The head of Atlanta’s police union confirmed Wednesday that officers from the Atlanta Police Department in Zones 3 and 6 walked off the job Wednesday afternoon.
Vince Champion, southeast regional director of the International Brotherhood of Police officers, said that police officers had stopped answering calls midshift, in response to charges against Officer Garrett Rolfe who is accused of murdering Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta.
“The union, we would never advocate this. We wouldn’t advocate a blue flu,” Champion said. “We don’t know the numbers. Apparently we’re learning that command staff are asking outlying counties for support and aren’t getting it.”
Decaturish has calls out to public affairs officers in Gwinnett, DeKalb and Cobb counties for confirmation. A message to the spokesperson for Atlanta Police was not immediately returned.
Zones 3 and 6 cover south Atlanta, where Rolfe killed Rayshard Brooks after a June 12DUI arrest turned into an altercation. Rolfe fired three bullets at Brooks as he fled with a taser in hand. Video of the shooting suggests Brooks pointed the taser at officers as he fled.
A protest the next day descended into vandalism and the arson of the Wendy’s restaurant where the shooting occurred. Police and state fire officials have offered $30,000 in reward money for tips leading to the arrest and prosecution of the arsonists.
Champion accused Paul Howard, Fulton county’s district attorney, of lying about what is happening in a press conference earlier today when Howard suggested that officer Devin Brosnan had turned state’s evidence and is testifying.
“The attorney for the officer said that’s not true two minutes later, and said he’s not pleading guilty and not offering state’s evidence,” Champion said.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is received.