Georgia DA Rejects Calls To 'Step Aside' In Rayshard Brooks Case

ATLANTA, GA — Paul Howard isn't going anywhere. That's the message being sent by the Fulton County District Attorney, who addressed the mounting criticism lobbed by a coalition of Georgia police union officials, elected politicians and police support groups. The critics are calling for the six-term prosecutor to recuse himself from the case involving two ex-Atlanta police officers charged in the death of Rayshard Brooks.

Last week, Howard announced a bevy of criminal charges against former Atlanta cops Garrett Rolfe and Devin Brosnan, who had responded to a Wendy's employee's call about a man (Brooks) who was asleep at the wheel in the drive-thru lane. Multiple video sources showed Brooks complying with a sobriety test, but the videos also show showed him fighting back while being handcuffed, grabbing Brosnan's Taser and running away.

Rolfe — who fired the shots that struck Brooks after the 27-year-old turned mid-stride while holding the Taser — could face the death penalty if convicted of felony murder.

Brooks' death has led to renewed protests and the resignation of the city’s police chief.

"This is a 27-year-old who’s dead; he didn't have to die,” Howard told CNN on Sunday. During the interview, Howard denied that his bid for reelection — he is being challenged by Fani Willis in a runoff election set for August 11 — influenced his decision to charge the officers involved in Brooks’ death.

“We charged it based upon the facts," Howard said during an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "I’m hoping the people in this country will get away from the little criticisms and understand the broad picture."

Howard added: "Protesters all across the country, they're not demonstrating because they thought Paul Howard did something political. They're demonstrating because citizens in our country continue to die, and a high number of those citizens are African Americans."

But in Georgia, those “little criticisms” have come from big names.

Also on Sunday, Senator Doug Collins (R-GA) joined a rally of police supporters that included police union officials and multiple members of the Georgia House and Senate. Collins blasted Howard for bringing the charges before the Georgia Bureau of Investigation completed its own inquiry into the shooting.

“It is time for the DA of Fulton County to step aside,” Collins charged. “You cannot prosecute cases until the investigation is over."

Later that same day, Collins made an appearance on "Fox & Friends Weekend,” where he repeated his criticism of Howard and called for him to “step aside so the Attorney General can appoint an independent prosecutor to actually find justice in this case.”

Howard has not budged, and Georgia’s Attorney General, Chris Carr confirmed in a tweet last week that state law does not empower his office to replace a prosecutor without a court order.

“Our office can appoint another prosecutor if a DA disqualifies himself/herself or a court disqualifies him/her,” Carr wrote.

Carr concluded the tweet with a hashtag: "#RuleofLaw."

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