Ex-officer charged with murder for shooting black man

Garrett Rolfe, the former Atlanta police officer who fatally shot African American Rayshard Brooks last week, was charged on Wednesday with 11 offenses including felony murder.

The charges were announced by Paul Howard, the district attorney for Fulton County in the US state of Georgia.

Rolfe, if found guilty of felony murder, could face life in prison without parole or the death penalty, Howard said in a news conference.

The death of Brooks, 27－the latest in a long line of unarmed African Americans whose fatal encounters with law enforcement have been documented on video－further heightened US social tensions at a time of national soul-searching over police brutality and racism in the criminal justice system.

Rolfe was fired after footage showed him shooting at Brooks multiple times as the black man fled during a nighttime encounter outside a fast-food restaurant in Atlanta on June.

Arrest warrants have been issued for Rolfe and Devin Brosnan, the other officer on the scene.

Brosnan has been placed on administrative duty and charged with three criminal counts, including aggravated assault.

Xinhua - Agencies