ATLANTA (AP) – After Georgia’s attorney general refused to reassign two high-profile cases involving allegations of excessive force against Atlanta police officers, including the killing of Rayshard Brooks, the district attorney is asking the court to decide who should handle the prosecutions.
Newly elected Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis sent a letter to Attorney General Chris Carr in January asking him to reassign the cases, raising concerns that actions by her predecessor, Paul Howard, made it inappropriate for her office continuing to handle the cases.
Carr refused, saying the potential problems she cited had to do with Howard, not her, so the responsibility for the cases remained with her office. Willis responded last month asking Carr to reconsider, but he again declined.
At issue are the cases against two officers involved in a fatal confrontation with Rayshard Brooks and six officers facing charges after two college students were stunned with Tasers and pulled from their car. Howard brought charges against the officers within days of each incident last summer.
Willis argues Howard may have violated a state bar rule by using video evidence in television advertisements for his reelection campaign and noted that an investigation was underway into whether Howard improperly issued grand jury subpoenas in one of the cases.