In an outrageous trumping up of a criminal case — to describe this as mere “overcharging” would be woefully insufficient — Fulton County prosecutor Paul Howard Jr. has charged former police officer Garrett Rolfe with felony murder in connection with the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks.
The killing of Brooks, who was violently resisting arrest and attempting to flee, is still under investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). But in the wake of George Floyd’s recent killing by Minneapolis police officers, the Black Lives Matter demagogues refuse to wait for evidence-based conclusions. They will tolerate no storyline other than the slanderous fiction that we are all expected not just to abide but endorse: Institutionally racist cops are hunting down black men.
So prosecutor Howard, did not wait for the GBI to finish its probe. The mob was demanding a scalp, so he gave them a scalp.
Howard got his in-house investigator to sign off on arrest affidavits. They charge Rolfe with felony murder, in addition to several other charges. In Georgia, felony murder is a death-penalty offense. The homicide theory of felony murder is that, while the offender does not specifically intend to cause death, he does intentionally commit a felony from which death results. In this instance, Howard alleges that the underlying felony was aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The allegation is ludicrous. That is why Howard rushed to get it done before any investigative findings could contradict him. He is in a fight for political survival: trailing in his reelection bid while facing sexual-harassment accusations by two women who worked in his office. There are also allegations that he violated campaign-finance laws. The state ethics commission is looking into those.
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ribit -- I did not know about the sexual-harassment accusations. Today I heard that he "stole" $140 grand.
Is that accurate?
I am trying not to watch the news.
I am reading dirty books now. ))