Former Atlanta officer charged with felony murder in shooting of Rayshard Brooks
Officer faces 11 charges; reaction and analysis on 'The Five.'
"The Five" co-host Jesse Watters said Wednesday that Atlanta's district attorney had decided to make a "political overcharge" of former police officer Garrett Rolfe in the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks.
"The prosecutor's [Paul Howard] in a hotly contested runoff for election and he's under state investigation for pocketing six figures that was supposed to go to the state to fight crime and it went into his personal bank account ..." Watters said, "so that's what that's all about."
Rolfe, who fired the shots that killed Brooks Friday night, faces 11 charges including felony murder, which could potentially lead to the death penalty. A second officer, Devin Brosnan, is charged with aggravated assault and violating his oath as a public officer.
Watters warned that the charges against Rolfe could lead to a "huge crime wave in the next decade" as officers "pull back" from making arrests for fear of a similar confrontation to that which killed Brooks.
"He's playing with fire," Watters said Howard. "We are looking at a huge crime wave in the next decade because of this. This is the Ferguson effect on steroids. Police now, especially Atlanta, they will pull back, they'll let the streets run wild, and if there is an arrest, I bet suspects are taking their chances with officers after this."
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"People need to be respectful of law enforcement," he went on. "The officer doesn't have to pull out the Taser, doesn't have to wrestle, doesn't have to pull out a firearm. All of these ... lives lost, these tickets, they can all be saved if people just start conducting themselves appropriately, and that goes for everybody, no matter who you are."
Fox News' Charles Creitz contributed to this report.