Rayshard Brooks’ family speaks to media | USA TODAY

Rayshard Brooks' widow Tomika Miller and other family members address media, along with family attorneys L. Chris Stewart and Justin Miller.

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Brooks was fatally shot by police in Atlanta on Friday night outside of a Wendy's after police responded to a call about him being asleep in his car in the drive-thru lane. The Fulton County Medical Examiner's office ruled his death a homicide Sunday night, caused by two shots to the back.

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65 comments

  1. so heartbreaking dear lord prayers for healing on this family and kids a senseless act once again.

  2. The family keeps saying, “Why couldn’t they just let him drive home?” -Because he was ‘DRUNK DRIVING’, (passed out in the driver’s seat, with the engine running, in the middle of the drive thru). He could have killed somebody! (I wonder if he had insurance?). – I went to jail for drunk driving, and I didn’t pass out at the wheel. What makes him so special that the law doesn’t pertain to him??!!

    1. @William Rodriguez HIS FAMILY said “Why couldn’t he just drive home”, because it was so close…

    2. @Martin Baker And he gave them an a z z whipping. But they escalated by not allowing him to walk home. I recalled this started with Mr. Brooks sleeping in a car. Now he is dead. Sad.

    3. @Martin Baker These people meant ‘walk’. They are.thrust into spotlight at moment’s notice; loved one executed by cops, enormous emotional pain and your sorry a z z mincing words.. But it is what Mr. Brooks said….”I can walk home; my sister lives right here.”…that really matters.

    4. @ModGod TheKing And add officers’ poor judgement. Police offer free rides for drunk people who had injured no person or property ALL THE TIME. It is advertised. Neither one thought of UVER or let him walk, as he clearly offered. And that field sobriety test did not reveal a stumbling slurring man. He was alert, and offered to walk home. Cop felt, death was a better solution.

  3. And that attorney is the male version of Gloria Alred. I now understand the phrase “ambulance chasers” a whole lot clearer.

    1. Yep…lawyer speak…
      “But what we know now, is that a man’s life was taken when it should never have happened”.
      Correct. It should never have happened. And if he hadn’t:
      -resisted arrest
      -grabbed the officer’s taser
      -ran
      -turned and shot taser at the officer
      it would never have happened. The officer did not shoot until he was fired upon. Actions have consequences, sometimes they are deadly.
      Edit: 6 min. video of incident:
      https://youtu.be/hnRuWcgflaE

    2. I understand the phrase, “great, intelligent, lawyer”. Oh wait, he’s black. I get your racist diss now.

    3. @Praise God And hiding bigotry behind lowercase god, (is what it should be), is not going to help you. That gig is up! Go hold up a faux bible in front of a church for a keepsake.

  4. He escalated the whole situation! -They might have let him go if he didn’t, beat up the police, steal their weapon, run, and aim the gun at the police and fire it.

    1. @Martin Baker Exactly. The ‘BS’ that cop pulled resulted in the death of a human being. Summons, ticket, Mr. Brooks; and let him walk home.

    2. @Billie Bunker and you cannot predict what would have happened had he woke up and driven off and possibly killed or harmed somebody for life! You can spin it whichever direction you like but you may need you hearing and eye sight checked because the video tells ALL you need to know!

    3. @Kim Ross But he didn’t drive off. He was asleep. In the end, a bus token, a ride home, takes care of this situation . Not 2 bullets in the back.

    4. @Billie Bunker but…. everything but owning up to the RIGHT thing! It wouldn’t matter if the evidence was shown and explained to you by the pope you would have a “yea but” in the end yes unfortunately a man lost his life, I bet of he had it to do again he would say I wish I would never have gotten into the car at all, then my family wouldn’t be in pain and grief, in the end it was a sad situation but maybe!! Just one person will take away that all you need to do is cooperate!! Of course that will be virtually impossible because of the thick cloud of judgement and criticism that’s in the way! Evey single thing you do has a consequence! Be it good or bad most of the time it’s your choice!

    5. @Kim Ross A black father and husband is dead because you and an embarrassed cop want to be right about shooting him in the back TWICE. In a racist world where you live, you can’t even imagine a cop, saying to a black man, who was asleep in a nonmoving car, “make a call, but you’re not getting back in that car”, or “get to walking, but you’re not getting back in that car.” We are not here if cops gave Mr. Brooks free ride home in their cruiser, like they gave to Dylan Roof to Burger King, right after, minutes after, he murdered 9 black people; one was a State Representative. Dylan Roof is white.

  5. All he was doing was driving drunk,the assaulting a police officer and grabbing the officers tazer and using it on him. I mean,give a brother a break,what did he do wrong!?

    1. @kimmie6209 he won’t see it that way and many others won’t either, because they don’t want to! I don’t know why this is all expected to end peacefully at all!! Because daily they look for more reasons to keep it going!! All so.sad and uncalled for!!! 😔

    2. A A but why was he driving drunk to begin with. And risking killing innocent lives? What if he killed one of your family member?

    3. @Snagiey you are right, but this case does magnify that the police need more training in de escalation. Frankly, this case is much more complicated but given all the tensions it should have ended without anyone dying!

  6. It’s fine to demand change.
    But when you start throwing bricks and gas filled bottles, breaking windows and looting stores that crosses the line. When the young drunk man grabbed the Police Taser and resisted arrest and aimed it at Police he crossed the line. He was drunk and made a deadly error in judgement.😝

    1. Last year in Fulton county another white officer was found guilty and sentenced to serve 12 years in prison for killing a naked black man. No doubt in my mind, this officer will meet the same fate, but with a harsher sentencing. This is what happens when officers who are TRAINED to de-escalate chose to become murderers. 🤷‍♀️

    2. @Margina Staffney No, he doesn’t need to go to hell first; he needs to stop the LYING. The person of interest in Wendy’s fire is white female. 80% of arrests for damaging bulidings, throwing bottled firebombs, done by far right wing white marchers who infiltrated marches and burned only black owned businesses; shootings by a boogaloo Klan group uncovered, who may have also, assassinated that black sheriff, Dorn; even online racist sites and posting by alleged ‘antifa’, was really a right wing racist group. They were shut down. They can’t have their own facts. Now, he can go to hell.

    1. Just like Sandy Hook families who spoke out ? We know how Trump taught you that Americans make up that family members are dead.

    2. U Right Big Fat Hoax, just waiting for to get paid… And, the cops he did what he had to do, all Mr Brooks had to do was just corporate and he would’ve been alive ✌️😎

  7. The first guy to speak is off base and is talking about two completely different things but is trying to tell you they are in the same category.
    I saw the multiple videos of Rayshard and the cops and the conclusion I have is that the cops were polite but still very professional and were only doing their jobs, that we pay them to do. They had a right to protect themselves against someone who was in the wrong….in everything he did.

  8. My heart is so broken for these families 💔. Sending my deep heartfelt condolences to you all 🙏. God rest his soul 🙏🙏🙏 Amen 🙏♥

    1. Try what? You see it with your eyes; hear it with your ears. Ryshard Brooks asked to walk home. Police escalated it. Murdered him..

  9. Behold the birth of lawlessness. This is like watching kids throw a fit about being in trouble. Don’t do something blatantly wrong then complain when something bad comes of it. The incident is completely justified!

  10. Somewhere inside the Chinese parliament, the officials are laughing at the situation of America.

  11. No way you can make Mr Brooks a freakin Heroe really?
    I’m a law abiding black man.
    You can not justify he didn’t warrant action.
    Shot in back? He turned to shot them with a taser.
    STOP THIS CRAZINESS….
    He shouldn’t been drunk
    Shouldn’t have fought police
    Shouldn’t have tried fire taser at them!
    Sure shouldn’t have ran and endangering others, and no thought of his own family.

    1. @Candace Yvette You don’t think about that in the heat of the moment when someone attacks you and takes your weapon. All of these ‘armchair quarterbacks’, I’d like to see you do the job!

    2. @Martin Baker But you can’t “armchair quarterback’ the facts. Mr. Brooks had not left and killed anyone; he was just asleep. So I am not concerned about that which did not happen. Fantasy scenarios to support your joy over the death of this husband and father, who happens to be black, is so deplorable.

    3. I’m responding to your comment “Mr. Brooks was no angel but he definitely deserve to be put to death.” Did you mean “he doesn’t deserve to be put to death.”? Yes it was reckless on the police part to open fire I agree leading to his death possibly hitting surrounding pedestrians. The police protocols are flawed and needs for change. Im reading both sides of the comments to understand the story more.

    4. @Martin Baker And that “weapon” Putin/Trump supporters are yelling about was deemed NON LETHAL by police unions. No weapon involved here. Also, if you stay 30 feet back and don’t chase a man you deemed, inebriated, there is no danger whatsoever.

  12. Police escalated this situation and murdered Mr. Brooks. “I can walk, my sister’s house is right here”. No, sleeping in a drive thru…death penalty.

    1. He drove the car there, while being drunk, which broke the law in itself, putting other people at risk.
      But that didnt get him killed. Assaulting officers and open fire on them with the taser gun did.

    2. Sorry…. you do not get out of a DUI in this country by telling the cop “let me go ill park the car and walk home”

    3. @Christina Nail.Designer Yet you can pull up numerous videos of whites under the influence pulling a knife and the police de-escalate. Yeah Rashad problem was being a black man!

    4. @Candace Yvette Exactly. And there are numerous videos; and some are called “funny” cop DUI videos, with police fully participating in the humor. No ha, ha, moment for Mr. Rayshard Brooks.

  13. Police reform: We need to be able to drink and drive, assault police officers and to try to taze them in the face while we escape.

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