Accused of killing a black man, former Atlanta police officer released from prison on bail and with an ankle monitor.
A judge set bail at $500 for Garrett Rolfe and added several conditions, including the use of an ankle monitor. The former Atlanta police officer is accused of the death of Rayshard Brooks last month, which sparked days of anti-racism protests.
Reuters The former Atlanta police officer accused of killing Rayshard Brooks last month, a killing that sparked days of anti-racism protests, has been released from prison on bail, local television station WSB TV and other media outlets reported.
On Tuesday, a Georgia county judge set bail at $500 for 27-year-old Garrett Rolfe, adding several conditions, including wearing an ankle monitor and respecting a curfew.
Rolfe was released from prison on Wednesday morning, according to media reports.
Representatives from the prison, the police, Rolfe, and Brooks' family were not immediately available for comment.
The white police officer is charged with felony murder and 10 other offenses in the death of Brooks, a 27-year-old black man, in the parking lot of a Wendy's restaurant in South Atlanta.
At a hearing held on Tuesday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jane Barwick said she would allow Rolfe to leave prison to await trial because she did not believe the former police officer posed a threat to the community or that he might flee.
Brooks' death on June 12 exacerbated existing tensions in the country over police brutality and racism sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody on May 25.
Surveillance camera and cell phone videos that recorded the incident in Atlanta were widely viewed on social media, triggering sometimes violent protests and the burning of the fast-food restaurant.
At Tuesday's hearing, before the judge issued her decision, Brooks' widow, Tomika Miller, asked the court to deny bail, saying she would not feel safe with the former police officer free.
“I say 'no' because mentally I can't handle it. I don't feel safe with him out there,” she argued.
Rolfe's lawyers said they intend to present compelling evidence that he had a legal justification for using lethal force because he was acting in self-defense. Rolfe was fired from the police force and was being held in the Gwinnett County jail.