Ex-APD officer charged in Rayshard Brooks shooting suing union over attorney fees

ATLANTA - A former Atlanta police officer charged in the deadly shooting of Rayhard Brooks is reportedly suing a police union for not covering his legal fees.

Devin Brosnan faced four felony charges, including aggravated assault and violating his oath, but a special prosecutor dropped the charges against him in 2022.

In a new lawsuit against the International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 623, Brosan said he was told the police union would cover his attorney fees if he were criminally charged for something that happened while on the job.

The former officer claims he had to pay $250,000 out of pocket and that the union refused to reimburse him.

 (Fulton County Sheriff's Office).

He is now seeking repayment for those costs as well as interest and attorneys' fees.

Brosan and Garrett Rolfe, the other officer charged in Brooks' death, had previously sued the city of Atlanta and former city officials, claiming that they had been falsely arrested and their constitutional rights had been violated.

Rayshard Brooks' death in Atlanta

On June 12, 2020, Brosnan and Rofle responded to complaints of a man sleeping in a car in the drive-thru lane of a Wendy’s restaurant. Police body camera video shows the two officers having a calm conversation with Brooks for roughly 40 minutes.

Then, when the officers told Brooks he’d had too much to drink to be driving and tried to arrest him, Brooks resisted in a struggle caught on dash camera video. Brooks grabbed a Taser from one of the officers and fled, firing it at Rolfe as he ran. Rolfe fired his gun, and an autopsy found that Brooks was shot twice in the back.

Officer Garrett Rolfe gives Rayshard Brooks a sobriety test moments before his deadly shooting in southwest Atlanta on June 12, 2020. (Atlanta Police Department)

Police Chief Erika Shields resigned less than 24 hours after Brooks died, and protesters set fire to the Wendy’s, which was later demolished.

After an investigation, Peter J. Skandalakis, the lead prosecutor appointed by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, determined Rolfe was justified in shooting Brooks.

Skandalakis said Brosnan received a concussion from the struggle with Brooks and was "out of it." He and Porter called Rolfe's use of force "objectively reasonable" because the circumstances were "intense and rapidly evolving." 

TIMELINE: RAYSHARD BROOKS SHOOTING, PROTESTS, FALLOUT FOR OFFICERS

The Atlanta Police Department first fired Garrett Rolfe, then later reinstated him with back pay. He remains with the department.

In his lawsuit, Brosnan said he left the department and moved out of Georgia.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.