On the night of June 12, 2020, officers were called to a Wendy’s location after they received complaints that Brooks was asleep in the drive-thru, and other cars had to navigate around his vehicle.
The Atlanta City Council unanimously voted Monday to settle a lawsuit with the family of Rayshard Brooks, the 27-year-old Black man who was killed by a police officer in a Wendy's parking lot in 2020, according to reports.
The city of Atlanta will pay Brooks' widow, Tomika Miller, and his estate and attorneys $1 million, according to People.
The settlement comes more than three months after prosecutors dropped charges against the officers involved in Brooks' June 12, 2020 shooting death on the grounds that they "committed no crimes" and used "reasonable" deadly force, according to NBC News.
“This grieving family has been through so much during this process. Although the children of Mr. Brooks have lost their father, settling the case will undoubtedly assist them with future plans as they come of age,” attorneys representing Brooks' family said in a statement, according to WXIA.
Attorneys for the Brooks family added they were "disappointed that prosecutors didn't pursue a criminal case against the officers involved in Mr. Brooks's death," according to People.
On the night of June 12, 2020, officers were called to a Wendy’s location after they received complaints that a man was asleep in the drive-thru, and other cars had to navigate around his vehicle.
Brooks, who was unarmed, reportedly failed a field sobriety test. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, when police tried to arrest him, he resisted.
That began a struggle between the two parties, and an officer went for a taser, according to the GBI.
The GBI said on Twitter it was aware of the videos of the incident are making their rounds on social media. One allegedly shows Brooks breaking free after a struggle with the officer, then running away. One officer goes after him with the taser, before they both run out of the camera’s frame.
A press release from the GBI issued in the wake of the shooting describes what happened next.
“Witnesses report that during the struggle the male subject grabbed and was in possession of the Taser. It has also been reported that the male subject was shot by an officer in the struggle over the Taser.”
Brooks was taken to a local hospital, where he died after surgery, according to the GBI.
The incident came in the middle of nearly three weeks of peaceful protests around the world — including in Atlanta — in response to the police-involved killing of George Floyd, calling for equality for Black Americans and an end to police brutality.
