Atlanta Police officers not responding to calls after fired officer was charged for felony murder of Rayshard Brooks

Posted: Jun 17, 2020 / 10:12 PM EDT

Updated: Jun 17, 2020 / 11:11 PM EDT

ATLANTA (WCMH) — CNN is reporting Atlanta police officers are not responding to calls in three of the department’s six zones after fired police officer Garrett Rolfe was charged with felony murder for fatally shooting Rayshard Brooks in the back.

The police department told CNN an unusual number of officers working the late shift called out sick.

Atlanta police patrol six zones covering some 500,000 residents. They also patrol Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The Atlanta Police Department said in a tweet that reports of multiple officers from each zone walking off the job were inaccurate.

Earlier suggestions that multiple officers from each zone had walked off the job were inaccurate. The department is experiencing a higher than usual number of call outs with the incoming shift. We have enough resources to maintain operations & remain able to respond to incidents.
— Atlanta Police Department (@Atlanta_Police) June 18, 2020

During a press conference Wednesday, prosecutors said Brooks posed no threat when he was gunned down and that Rolfe kicked him and offered no medical treatment as he lay dying on the ground.

Brooks was holding a stun gun he had snatched from officers but was 18 feet, 3 inches away when he was shot by Rolfe and was running away at the time, District Attorney Paul Howard said in announcing the charges five days after the killing outside a Wendy’s restaurant rocked the city.

The felony murder charge against Rolfe carries life in prison without parole or the death penalty. He was also charged with 10 other offenses punishable by decades behind bars.