DA Paul Howard - who is under investigation for crimes - says grand juries should be bypassed in police shooting cases

DA Paul Howard - who is under investigation for crimes - says grand juries should be bypassed in police shooting cases

Georgia DA Paul Howard – who charged Atlanta officer with murder in Rayshard Brooks case – voted out of office

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ATLANTA, GA- The embattled District Attorney who he himself is under investigation has been voted out.  This comes on the heels of charging an Atlanta officer with felony murder in the death of criminal Rayshard Brooks.  

Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Paul Howard lost reelection on Tuesday to Fani Willis.

Willis, a former Deputy District Attorney and Judge in South Fulton County won the election run off by nearly 75 percent of the vote. She is now the first woman DA in Fulton County.

Howard has been the DA for Fulton County since 1997 with little to no opposition. This is his sixth term. He was the first African-American DA in. the state of Georgia

In the June 9, 2020 runoff, Willis earned 42 percent of the Fulton County DA Democratic vote in a three-way tie with Howard and Christian Wise Smith. None of the candidates received 50 percent of the vote which forced the runoff election between Willis and Howard.

Howard quickly came under scrutiny after the election. It started when Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed by Atlanta Police. Howard announced that his office would charge Officer Garret Rolf and Officer Devin Brosnan.

This announcement was made before the Georgia Bureau of Investigation had completed their investigation of the incident. The scrutiny revealed accusations of Workplace harassment, discrimination and 14 violations of state ethics regulations.

Howard is also currently under investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation over his use of a nonprofit.  He’s alleged to have funneled least $140,000 in the city of Atlanta’s funds to supplement his salary.

He also recently agreed to pay a $6,500 fine to the state ethics commission.  This, after admitting that he failed to disclose his role with two nonprofits – which paid him more than $200,000.

He’s said the money was a well-deserved pay raise for him.

Willis worked under Howard for 17 years as a prosecutor until 2018. She was chosen to serve as Chief Judge of Fulton County. Willis has been incredibly vocal about how Howard has run his office lately. Her major points of contention were decisions that made the community less safe, and questionable integrity. 

Howard conceded the election at around 11:00 PM on Aug. 11, 2020. He told reporters: “I came in with pride and I’m leaving with pride.”

“I am honored and humbled to appear before you and say that tonight, Fulton County has spoken up loud and clear,” Willis said in her victory speech. “My staff and I, we will do what is right, every time and all the time.”

Willis’ first order of business is to bring respect and integrity to the Fulton County District Attorney’s office, according to Dave Huddleson at WSB-TV.

As we reported last month, new evidence points to Howard’s corruption in former Atlanta Officer Rolfe’s case.

The Georgia Law Enforcement Organization (GLEO) recently posted information which they claim shows more proof that District Attorney Paul Howard is corrupt. 

This stems from the officer involved shooting in which former Atlanta Officer Garrett Rolfe fired his weapon at Rayshard Brooks, killing him. Video surveillance shows Brooks who Rolfe was attempting to arrest for DUI fighting officers, and then firing a stolen Taser at officers. 

EVEN MORE PROOFWe recently noted the politically motivated actions of Atlanta’s District Attorney Paul Howard in his…

Posted by Georgia Law Enforcement on Thursday, July 16, 2020

The post claims that the numerous criminal charges against former Officer Rolfe were politically motivated. 

GLEO says there is new evidence which shows that Howard filed the charges in order to make himself more electable for his seventh consecutive term amid numerous other allegations against him. 

The claim initially stems from the grand jury subpoenas which were issued to the Atlanta Police Department requiring they furnish all information for an “open investigation regarding Garrett Rolfe and the use of force incident.” 

The Facebook post points out, as Law Enforcement Today has previously reported, that the Grand Jury was suspended previously in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

As such, it does not appear that those subpoenas would be valid, and the issuance of subpoenas without a Grand Jury seated could be a violation of legal rules in Georgia which could lead to Howard being disbarred. 

Howard’s defense is that an employee of the State Attorney’s Office was misguided in believing that the Grand Jury subpoena was appropriate and he has taken steps to correct the problem. 

The other concerns pointed out where they felt that Howard presented inconsistent claims as to how and why the subpoenas were issued.  They stated that Howard initially stated the subpoenas were authorized and issued for a “future grand jury,” and not in fact a clerical error. 

He further gave another explanation which said that the issuance of the subpoenas were done from a past grand jury, the one that was seated prior to the closure of the normal court proceedings caused by the pandemic. 

The GLEO Facebook page posed the question as to whether these legal errors were done on purpose.  They propose that Howard knew that the officers should not have been criminally charged in this case, and knew that Rolfe’s actions were self-defense.   

If these claims are accurate, Howard gets a win-win type of situation.  He first stepped up to confront what the public believed were “bad officers,” and criminally charged them to appease his community members. The fact that clerical errors were made, which will ensure the case is thrown out, allows Howard’s hands to remain clean as he passes the blame on someone else. 

Howard would be able to not only blame the court for the decision not to pursue the case criminally, but he would be able to blame the lack of prosecution on the “systemic racism” that groups like Black Lives Matter assert exists, despite facts that would suggest otherwise. 

The Washington Post has a database which houses all of the information for officer involved shootings over the past several years.  In this database, it clearly shows that the majority of people who have been killed by police overwhelmingly have been white people. 

Although they attempt to spin the information and say that black people have disproportionately been killed by police, with no explanation given as to what led to the killing, what cannot be argued is that the white people have been the ones killed the most. 

It doesn’t take a college educated mind to determine that those facts do not support the current mindset that officers are on a racially-motivated killing spree. 

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Here is the full story that Law Enforcement Today published about the incident with police and Rayshard Brooks.

As you’re no doubt aware of by now, Officer Garrett Rolfe of the Atlanta Police Department has been arrested in relation to the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks.

The DA (whose integrity is quite questionable, more on that later) has filed 11 charges against Officer Rolfe: felony murder, five counts of aggravated assault, four counts of violation of oath of office and one count of criminal damage to property.

As anyone with any knowledge of use of force laws and policies (and maybe a sprinkle of common sense) can see, this shooting was absolutely and completely justified. Officer Rolfe is clearly being used as a pawn in a sick, sick game.

Now, it’s up to his family, blood and blue, to stand by his side and get him the help he needs.

The Georgia Law Enforcement Organization has started a fundraiser to bring much needed financial assistance to Garrett.

Here’s the description of the fundraiser started by Greg James:

“Officer Rolfe was involved in the justified shooting of Rayshard Brooks on June 12th, 2020. The videos clearly show that the shooting was justified; however, the District Attorney Paul Howard, who is losing his election, has chosen to charge Officer Rolfe with 11 charges including Felony Murder, and it is 100% for political gain.

“The DA is losing his election, and he is also under investigation himself for stealing $185,000 in tax money, and transferring it directly into his personal account.

“This fundraiser is designed to help Officer Rolfe and his family to pay for legal services and general necessities.”

There is going to be a long, tough road ahead for Garrett, and we need to be there with him every step of the way. 

To contribute to the fundraiser set up for Rolfe, click HERE.

According to Greg James, here’s the full incident breakdown:

“A DUI investigation determined that [Brooks] was too intoxicated to drive. The bodycam showed the officers being overly nice and polite to him the entire time all the way up until the handcuffs were about to go on, as they should’ve been.

“As soon as they tried to cuff him, an all out brawl took place. Not just resisting, but punching them in the face and throwing them around.

“He took one officer’s taser, threw him face first into the asphalt, stood up, and took off.
“So let’s pause there and see where we’re at legally.

“Charges:

-DUI
-Obstruction X2 – Felony
-Battery on an officer X2
-Aggravated assault X2 – Felony
-Strong Armed Robbery – Felony
-And believe it or not….
-Possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime – Felony

“Per Georgia Law, a taser is classified as a “less-lethal” FIREARM as they do occasionally cause death.
(OCGA 16-11-106)

“These offenses are important because there is a case law called Tennessee v Garner

“What Tennessee v Garner states is:
‘When a non-violent felon is ordered to stop and submit to police, ignoring that order does not give rise to a reasonable good-faith belief that the use of deadly force is necessary, UNLESS it has been threatened.’

“So this goes back to the taser being classified as a firearm that can cause death or great bodily harm.

“The 2nd officer chased after him and tried to use his own taser against him, but he didn’t get a good connection.

“Brooks then turns, aims the taser at the officer, and fires. Statutorily, this is no different than firing a gun. (The taser that APD carries has 2 cartridges, so Brooks could have potentially shot the officer twice.)

“The officer dropped his taser from his left hand after it appears he was hit by a barb on the video, draws his sidearm, fires 3 shots, falls against a car in the parking lot and Brooks goes down.

“Brooks was not only a continuing threat to the officer since he could still fire the taser again, but he also showed and EXTREME desire to get away, with a weapon. So it is not unreasonable to have the fear that he would use that weapon to carjack a motorist sitting in the drive-thru line, take a hostage, or otherwise hurt another innocent party.

“What does Georgia Law say about deadly force?
OCGA 17-4-20 (b):
Sheriffs and peace officers may use deadly force:

1.) to apprehend a suspected felon only when the officer reasonably believes that the suspect possesses a deadly weapon. (He did)
2.) to apprehend a suspected felon who possesses any object, device, or instrument which, when used offensively against a person, is likely to or actually does result in serious bodily injury. (He did)
3.) to apprehend a suspected felon when the officer reasonably believes that the suspect poses an immediate threat of physical violence to the officer or others (He did)
4.) to apprehend a suspected felon when there is probable cause to believe that the suspect has committed a crime involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious physical harm (He did)

“The officer only needed one of those requirements, but he had all 4……..

“Now the reason taser’s are considered “less-lethal” is because when used appropriately, you are ‘less likely’ to kill someone vs using a gun.

But Brooks hasn’t been through the training to know how to avoid certain vulnerable parts of the body, and he doesn’t understand how neuromuscular incapacitation (NMI) works, which makes it MORE likely for him to cause great bodily injury or death than if an officer used it.

“And just to support the fact that tasers can and do kill, there is an East Point Officer currently sitting in prison for improperly using a taser and killing a man a few years ago.
(Eberhart v Georgia)

“’He could’ve shot him in the leg!’

“Right off the top, it is unconstitutional to do so. It is considered cruel and unusual punishment to employ a gun in that manner. Either an officer felt deadly force was necessary, or he should use a lesser response.

“We could just leave it at that, but that’s too much of a cop out, so let’s discuss WHY it has been deemed unconstitutional. For one thing, that’s an extremely difficult shot to make. The target is quite narrow, and in continuous motion as the suspect runs away/charges the officer.

“Under the best of conditions trying to hit the leg is challenging…to be generous about it. But in a life or death encounter, the officer’s fine motor skills will be eroded by the stress of the encounter making the shot, turning a leg shot into a very low probability feat.

“Assuming a round does hit the leg, then what? The only way a shot to the leg would immediately stop a threat is by shattering one of the bones, and stopping the threat is the ultimate goal.

While it is very difficult to find a shot to the leg that will immediately stop a threat, it is actually comparatively easy to find shots to the leg which eventually prove fatal. Human legs have very large blood vessels which are essentially unprotected (femoral artery).

“Now remember, we’ve had days to sit back, watch videos, discuss, and analyze this entire thing. The officers had less than a minute from the time the fight started, and less than 5 seconds to interpret EVERYTHING you just read while running, getting shot at with a taser, and returning fire.”

 

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