Rayshard Brooks' widow dreading Father's Day: 'My husband won't be here'

The widow of Rayshard Brooks, a Black man shot to death in the parking lot of an Atlanta Wendy’s, said that while she is glad to see the charges against the former police officer who killed her husband, they won’t bring her husband back.

Tomika Miller also told NBC’s “TODAY” show on Thursday that the charges are significant, “but I want to see them go through.”

“It’s just very emotional,” Miller said. “Father’s Day is coming up, and all I can keep thinking about is my husband won’t be here. No matter how many charges they face, it’s not going to bring him back.”

Brooks, 27, who was a father of three daughters and a stepson, was shot in the parking lot of the Wendy’s after two Atlanta police officers responded to a 911 call on June 12 reporting that a man who appeared intoxicated was sleeping in his car in the restaurant’s drive-through.

One of the officers, Garrett Rolfe, who was fired the day after the fatal shooting, has been charged with felony murder among 11 counts total, the Fulton County district attorney announced Wednesday.

The second officer, Devin Brosnan, was placed on administrative leave and is a cooperating witness for the state, the district attorney announced. He faces three charges, including aggravated assault and violation of oath.

Miller said the encounter with the police “should have never gone that way.”

Her lawyer, L. Chris Stewart, spoke on “TODAY” about the defense for the two officers arguing that the district attorney was making a rush to judgment.

Stewart said that would have been the officers’ reaction even if the district attorney had taken two years to bring charges.

He noted that there are videos of the shooting, but, he said, “you just can’t win if you try and charge a police officer.

“We’re just going to wait and let it play out and hope that we finally get justice for Rayshard,” Stewart said. “Justice comes to both sides, for once it’s coming to the victim.”

In the fatal encounter on June 12, Rolfe and Brosnan questioned Brooks for more than 25 minutes, body and dash-camera videos show. During the questioning, Brooks struggled to remember how many drinks he had had and at one point asked the officers whether he could walk home.

“I just don’t want to be in violation of anybody,” Brooks said, adding, “Let me go. I’m ready to go.”

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the shooting, said Brooks failed a field sobriety test and struggled with the officers as they tried to arrest him.

Brooks grabbed hold of one of the officer’s stun guns and appeared to be running away with it, GBI Director Vic Reynolds said at a news conference Saturday.

After running a short distance, Brooks appeared to turn around and point the stun gun at the officer, according to Reynolds. At that point, Rolfe fatally shot Brooks.

source: nbcnews.com