Trump on Atlanta Police Officer Charged in Rayshard Brooks Shooting: ‘I Hope He Gets a Fair Shake’

Wednesday, during an interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, President Donald Trump sounded off on the Rayshard Brooks killing. Earlier in the day, Fulton County, GA District Attorney Paul Howard announced that former Atlanta Police Officer Garrett Rolfe, the suspect in Brooks’ death, was facing 11 charges.

The charges included felony murder, multiple counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, first-degree criminal damage to property, and two counts of violating of his oath as a public officer.

Trump called Brooks’ death a “terrible situation,” but added that he hopes Rolfe will get a “fair shake.”

“[I] thought it was a terrible situation, but you can’t resist a police officer,” he said. “And you know, if you have a disagreement, you have to take it up after the fact. It was a very, very sad thing. You take a look, and it was out of control, the whole situation was out of control. I heard today and just got a report that the police officer’s lawyer said that he heard a sound like a gun, like a gunshot. He saw a flash in front of him. So, that’s interesting. I don’t know that I would have necessarily believed that. But I will tell you, it’s a very interesting thing, and maybe that’s so. It’s up to justice right now. It’s up to justice. I hope he gets a fair shake because police have not been treated fairly in our country. They have not been treated fairly.”

“Again, you cannot resist a police officer like that,” Trump added. “And they ended up in a very terrible disagreement. And look at the way it ended — very bad, very bad.”

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor

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