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Ex-Atlanta police officer charged with killing Rayshard Brooks granted $500K bond

ATLANTA — A Fulton County, Georgia, judge granted bond Tuesday to a former Atlanta police officer charged with murder in the shooting of Rayshard Brooks, according to WSB-TV.

Update 4 p.m. EDT June 30: Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jane Barwick issued a $500,000 bond Tuesday for Garrett Rolfe, saying that Rolfe’s ties to the community showed he was not a flight risk.

According to WSB-TV, bond was issued so long as Rolfe meets the following conditions:

  • He must wear an ankle monitor
  • He will have a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. with exceptions for work, legal matters or medical issues
  • He must surrender his passport
  • He will not be allowed to possess or carry firearms
  • He will not be allowed to have contact with Brooks’ family members or any witnesses, including the three other victims in the case
  • He will not be allowed to have any contact with other Atlanta police officers

Defense attorneys Bill Thomas and Noah Pines argued for Rolfe’s character and against him being a flight risk. Thomas said 28 character letters were submitted to the state on Rolfe’s behalf.

The attorneys requested a $50,000 to $100,00 signature bond. The state had asked for a bond of $1 million, with conditions.

The state argued cell phone records show Rolfe sent text messages to four Atlanta officers in the minutes after the shooting. The state said it has not been able to access the phone because Rolfe has not given the passcode.

The judge denied the state’s request for Rolfe to give authorities his passcode as part of the bond conditions.

Brooks’ widow, Tomika Miller, told the court she has trouble sleeping since her husband’s death and that she would not be able to mentally handle Rolfe being granted bond.

“My husband did not deserve to die and I should not have to live in fear while waiting for the man who killed my husband to be tried in court,” Miller said. “My husband wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t deserve to die.”

Original report: Garrett Rolfe is scheduled to appear in court for a bond hearing Tuesday afternoon, according to WSB-TV.

Authorities charged Rolfe with felony murder, aggravated assault and nine other charges after he shot and killed Brooks on June 12 in a Wendy’s parking lot, according to officials. Police had been called because Brooks fell asleep in the restaurant’s drive-thru, investigators said. After cooperating with police for more than 40 minutes, authorities said Brooks fought with officers and took one of their Tasers.

District Attorney Paul Howard previously said Rolfe shot Brooks even though Brooks posed no threat and that Rolfe and then-Officer Devin Brosnan failed to get Brooks medical attention for more than two minutes after the shooting.

Howard said earlier this month that his office would recommend Rolfe be held without bond.

WSB-TV spoke to former DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James, who has no connection to the case but believes Rolfe will likely get “some sort of bond. He told the news station that bond hearings are usually short, but this one might take hours.

“It’s complicated. High-profile cases could last as long as a half a day,” James said. Also, defense lawyers for the former officer will present character witnesses “to testify that he’s generally a good guy; he’s not a flight risk if you let him out,” he added.

The Cox Media Group National Content Desk contributed to this report.