President Donald Trump appeared on Fox News with Sean Hannity last night, weighing in on the killing of Rayshard Brooks, an African American man, by Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe. Trump dubbed the incident a “terrible situation” and “very sad” but then quickly shifted his tone, saying “you can’t resist a police officer… if you have a disagreement, you have to take it up after the fact.”
Throughout the remainder of the segment, much of Trump’s commentary centered around defending the officers involved. He parroted Rolfe’s attorney, saying Rolfe believed it was necessary to shoot Brooks because the officer heard a sound “like a gunshot and saw a flash in front of him.” He added that he hopes Rolfe “gets a fair shake [in court] because police have not been treated fairly in our country.”
The president then continued to call out what he perceives as an unjust vilification of police in America, saying that a “vast majority” of police are “good people.” “They’re under siege, there’s no question about that,” he added.
Despite making such strong statements, Trump admitted that he did not watch the video of the altercation in its entirety. The footage shows Rolfe fatally shooting Brooks twice in the back after Brooks took the officers taser while being arrested in a Wendy’s parking lot. Rolfe was fired and charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, and other offenses on Wednesday. Devin Brosnan, the other officer present, is also facing criminal charges.