Officer Garrett Rolfe, who shot and killed a Black man after a confrontation at a Wendy’s in 2020, is under investigation after the fight at X early Sunday morning.
Calls to 911 from the employee who was ultimately arrested, Raefeal “Ray” Penrice, reveal more about the moments that led up to the fight.
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“I have a guy here claiming to be APD, and he keeps following me, I’m at the back door of my job like taking out the trash,” Penrice can be heard saying.
“He’s not in uniform?” a 911 dispatcher asks.
“No, he’s not in no uniform, and he’s drinking. Him and his buddy are drinking,” Penrice responds.
Witnesses told Channel 2 Action News that the fight started after Rolfe’s friend accused a bartender of overcharging for drinks. They started arguing, and that’s when witnesses say Penrice tried to escort the officer and his friend out of the bar.
“Instead of them leaving, they wouldn’t leave,” Penrice says in the 911 call. “I told them they need to leave, and, like I said, the other guy runs up behind me, like I said, grabs me in my rib cage and my shoulder and my wing area.”
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Witnesses say it was Rolfe who attacked Penrice.
“He’s such a nice guy – he’s always made everyone feel very safe and I think its absolutely heinous that after several eyewitnesses told the arresting officers that it was in fact the off-duty police officer who threw the first punch, yet he was still the one taken to jail,” said a witness who spoke to Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes on the phone.
Channel 2 Action News reached out to Rolfe’s attorney for a statement.
“My client is a victim. He’ll be fully cooperating with this investigation,” attorneys said in a statement.
The incident report for the fight is not yet available.
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