#Cop Devin Brosnan calls shooting death of Rayshard Brooks a ‘total tragedy’

Atlanta cop Devin Brosnan, who is charged with aggravated assault in the deadly shooting of Rayshard Brooks, described the encounter as a “tragic event” and said he looks forward to cooperating with investigators to clear his name, according to a report.

The officer appeared along with his attorney Don Samuel on MSNBC on Thursday after he turned himself in and was released on bond, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

“I have full faith in the criminal justice system,” he said on the program. “I’m looking forward to cooperating with any investigators who are interested in having a conversation about what happened that night.”

Brosnan also was charged with three counts of violation of oath in the death of the 27-year-old Brooks, whom former cop Garrett Rolfe shot in the back after a struggle in the parking lot of a Wendy’s.

Rolfe was charged with felony murder, five counts of aggravated assault, one count of first-degree criminal damage to property and four counts of violation of oath.

On Wednesday, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced that Brosnan had agreed to testify against Rolfe, referring to him as a “state’s witness.”

But during the appearance on MSNBC, Samuel described the phrase “TV talk.”

“We are being fully cooperative. We’re going to answer all the questions that they have or the (Georgia Bureau of Investigation) has,” Samuel said.

“But he’s not a ‘state’s witness,’ he’s not a defense witness. He’s a witness … He’s not cooperating against anybody. He’s going to provide accurate information about what happened,” he added.

Asked whether he had a message for the slain man’s family, the officer called it a “total tragedy that a man had to lose his life that night.”

Brosnan added: “For my initial encounter with him, I felt he was friendly. He was respectful. I was respectful to him and I felt that this seemed like someone who potentially needed my help.

“I was really just there to see what I could do for him and make sure he was safe,” he said.

Asked whether he had considered letting Brooks — who was drunk and had offered to walk home — leave the area on his own, Brosnan declined to answer.

The officer has been accused by prosecutors of standing on the mortally wounded man’s shoulders rather than providing timely first aid, but his attorney strongly denied the allegation.

“Literally for a matter of seconds — seconds — he puts a foot on his arm to make sure he can’t grab a weapon,” Samuel said. “Then he realizes what’s going on … He was not standing on his shoulders.”

Samuel added that his client tried to help Brooks despite suffering a concussion in the struggle just moments before.

“He certainly rendered aid as fast as he could,” he said. “Officer Brosnan, with a concussion, is the only one — not the other officers to show up — who actually starts rendering aid and doing CPR.”

Brosnan told the network that he never saw Rolfe kicking Brooks after he had been shot, as has been alleged by prosecutors.