Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe — who first made headlines in 2020 when he shot and killed Rayshard Brooks — is now being charged with simple battery after a violent altercation with an employee at X Midtown club last month.
In a 911 call released a few days after the incident in June, club employee Raefeael Penrice, told the dispatcher that Rolfe and his friend, identified in the police report as Paul Smith, had been asked to leave the club and were refusing.
“I have a guy here that’s claiming to be an APD [officer] and he keeps following me. I’m in the back doing my job like taking out the trash, the guy followed me to the back of the alley,” he said.
Penrice told the dispatcher that Rolfe and Smith were drunk and belligerent, and said they brandished “something shiny” that he believed could be a weapon.
At the end of the call, Rolfe and Smith can be heard arguing with Penrice, who continues to ask them to leave the premises.
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According to a witness statement in the incident report, Smith and Rolfe were asked to leave after Smith took pictures of one of the club’s bartenders without permission.
The bartender, a woman, then asked Penrice to get Rolfe and Smith to leave.
“Ray asked them to leave nicely, and they started getting aggressive with him,” she told officers.
She stated that Rolfe punched Penrice four times before he defended himself.
Despite the bartender and two other witnesses telling officers that Rolfe and Smith were the aggressors in the situation, it was Penrice who was put in handcuffs and taken to Fulton County Jail on charges of battery and simple battery.
Rolfe, who was off-duty at the time, was released at the scene and put on administrative leave by APD. Smith does not face any charges.
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The bar fight happened just weeks after the five-year anniversary of Rolfe killing Brooks in a Wendy’s parking lot, sparking dozens of protests around the city.
Following the shooting, Rolfe was fired from APD and charged with felony murder, multiple counts of aggravated assault and violation of oath by then-Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard.
A year later, the Atlanta Civil Service Review Board reinstated Rolfe to his job with APD and awarded him back pay.
More than two years after the fatal shooting of Brooks, all charges against Rolfe were dismissed by a special prosecutor appointed by state Attorney General Chris Carr.
On July 30, Rolfe was booked into the Fulton County jail in connection with the incident at the club and released the same day.
In a statement following the incident and public outcry over Rolfe not being arrested at the scene, APD said, “The Atlanta Police Department remains committed to serving its citizens and holding its employees to the highest standards on and off duty.”
