ATLANTA — Atlanta police are still investigating a bar fight between an employee and an off-duty police officer.
Investigators say the employee, Rae Penrice, is the current suspect in the case.
Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes spoke with Penrice on Friday to get his side of the story.
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“It was like something above the law,” he said.
Several witnesses told Channel 2 Action News that the officer, Garrett Rolfe, started the fight and should’ve been the one to go to jail. Rolfe, the same officer who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks, is currently on leave while police investigate.
“I was doing my job, just greeting customers and cleaning up and making sure the front straight," Penrice described.
He says a female coworker at X in midtown Atlanta told him that Rolfe and a friend had taken photos of her after accusing her of overcharging for drinks.
“I told them, ‘I’m Rae, I work here and y’all were asked to leave, so why won’t you?’ And in the course of me saying those words, I was struck, I was hit. I was hit several times,” he recalled. “I got hit right here in my temple area, I got hit in my neck, I got hit right here underneath my jaw. And those were the ones that were substantial because those were the ones I felt for a few days. And at that point, I just had to defend myself after the attack.”
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He says he hit the officer to stop the attack.
Penrice called 911 after he says a group of people followed him to the back alley as he took out the trash.
The bar employee was subsequently arrested after police arrived.
Fernandes reached out to police who said they cannot comment until the investigation is over.
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