ATLANTA — The arrest warrant states Atlanta Police Officer Garrett Rolfe should have been arrested when police responded to reports of a fight at a Midtown bar.
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The officer, now on paid leave, was arrested for his involvement in the incident at X Midtown a month after it happened.
The altercation took place June 29, when Rolfe was off duty. Witness accounts stated Rolfe was aggressive and hit the employee multiple times, but the bar employee was the only one arrested that night.
Witnesses told Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes on Channel 2 Action News at 6 that they were shocked as the employee was arrested and taken to jail, while Rolfe walked away.
“If people saw that he did something then you should be punished for that like any other normal person,” said Charles King, a customer familiar with the neighborhood.
When investigators took a second look at the case, they said every witness called Rolfe the aggressor. He has been charged with simple battery.
Witnesses expressed distrust towards the police after the incident, stating that Atlanta police should drop all charges against the bar employee.
“I feel like paid leave is crazy,” King said, expressing that Rolfe should be fired if confirmed to be in the wrong.
The Atlanta Police Department has not responded to inquiries about whether Rolfe will remain on paid leave until the case is resolved.
In 2020, Rolfe was the officer involved in the deadly shooting of Rayshard Brooks outside a Wendy’s. Charges were dropped against him in 2022, and he fought for his job to get reinstated with the department.
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