Rayshard Brooks' Autopsy Results Released

Atlanta man was shot in the back, twice
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 15, 2020 12:03 AM CDT
Updated Jun 15, 2020 6:51 AM CDT
Rayshard Brooks Was Shot in the Back, Twice
Eva Snow and Joseth Jett hug Sunday, June 14, 2020, after Jett spray painted over the top of graffiti from the night before and painted RIP Rayshard.   (Steve Schaefer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

A day after Atlanta police released video of the killing of Rayshard Brooks in the city Friday night, the medical examiner's office released Brooks' autopsy results. The 27-year-old black man, shot to death after a field sobriety test in a Wendy's drive-thru led to a confrontation, was shot twice in the back, CNN reports. The death was listed as a homicide. Brooks was allegedly running away from the officers who were trying to arrest him for suspected DUI at the time; he had allegedly taken one of their Tasers and tried to shoot the officers with it. The AP describes video of the more than 40-minute encounter as showing a "seemingly routine," "largely peaceful" encounter that suddenly turns deadly. The Fulton County district attorney said a decision on whether to bring charges against any officers involved will likely come this week.

"(Brooks) did not seem to present any kind of threat to anyone, and so the fact that it would escalate to his death just seems unreasonable," the DA said. Atlanta protesters have been demonstrating since Brooks' death, adding to the ongoing protests in that city and elsewhere over the deaths of black people at the hands of police; on Saturday, the Wendy's where Brooks was killed was set ablaze and gutted. Police are offering a reward for information leading to whomever was responsible for that, and the Guardian notes they have released surveillance images of what appears to be a white woman, whom they want to talk to. The officer who shot Brooks has been fired and the police chief has stepped down; a second officer involved has been placed on administrative duty. In an interview airing Monday on CBS This Morning, Brooks' widow, Tomika Miller, says the cops involved need to be jailed. "If it was my husband who shot them, he would be in jail. He would be doing a life sentence." He leaves behind three young daughters and a stepson, WSB reports. (More Rayshard Brooks stories.)

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