Experts say despite anger from supporters, appointing new prosecutor in Brooks case a smart move

ATLANTA — Protests erupted again this week in downtown Atlanta over the handling of the Rayshard Brooks case.

Brooks was shot and killed by police at a Wendy’s restaurant last summer.

Thursday evening, a group of protesters got onto the downtown connector near Grady Memorial Hospital and stopped traffic for a bit before police forced them off the interstate.

The protesters were upset that new Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis transferred the case to the state attorney general.

While those that support Brooks’ family are upset by the move, legal experts said the change may actually help the case end in a conviction.

Brooks’ widow, Tomika Miller, said she felt blindsided when she heard what happened.

“The amount of disrespect that I have taken. I don’t know how much I can take,” Miller said. “I won’t stop fighting until I get justice.”

Nine supporters ended up in police cars Thursday after protesting on the interstate. Much of the frustration was aimed at Willis for transferring the case.

“You said you don’t run from hard cases. But baby, you ran from this one,” Miller said.

Some experts say the decision actually increases the chance of a murder conviction against former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe.

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“Her decision, I think, actually is something the family should welcome,” Georgia State University professor Clark Cunningham told Channel 2′s Matt Johnson.

Last week, Willis sent a letter to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr requesting that he appoint another prosecutor to the case.

In the letter, Willis said former District Attorney Paul Howard used video evidence in campaign ads, a tactic that she said raises questions about the appropriateness of the DA’s office prosecuting the case.

“The best defense that Garrett Rolfe has, the officer charged with murder, is that he would not be charged with murder but for the fact that Paul Howard was trying to use this prosecution to win his reelection,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham told Johnson that removing the DA’s office from the trial removes some of that distraction.

“The prosecution is probably more likely to be successful if it’s handled by another office,” Cunningham said.

The attorney general’s office told Johnson it is still reviewing the information.

Supporters of Brooks’ family said they are pressuring Carr to make sure whoever takes over the case has prosecuted police departments before.

“Give this case to a similar metro Atlanta DA that has the experience and has the resources to try this case,” state Rep. Erica Thomas said.

Georgia State University criminology professor Thaddeus Johnson said the chances that a technicality influences the case also are lower with new prosecutors involved.

“It has to be done right. So, can you imagine if something is done incorrectly, and this case is thrown out?” Thaddeus Johnson said.

He said the Brooks case is an important one for police accountability and it should be handled without politics.

“This has precedent across our nation to the other cases that are going on,” Thaddeus Johnson said. “So it just has to be held the right way because it is much bigger than this local case.”

GBI completes investigation into Rayshard Brooks shooting

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