#BREAKING: Trump on Rayshard Brooks shooting: "A terrible situation, but you can't resist a police officer" http://hill.cm/Upvgzvb
President Trump on Wednesday called the killing of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta a "terrible situation," but appeared to cast blame on the victim in the case by insisting that "you can't resist a police officer."
Trump offered his most extensive comments to date on the death of Brooks, a 27-year-old black man who was shot and killed by police after an altercation outside a Wendy's. He called Brooks' death "very sad," but offered rigid support for law enforcement amid a broader national discussion over police brutality, saying police officers "have not been treated fairly."
"I thought it was a terrible situation, but you can’t resist a police officer," Trump told Sean Hannity on Fox News. "And, you know, if you have a disagreement you have to take it up after the fact."
The officer who shot Brooks, Garrett Rolfe, was charged earlier Wednesday with murder and aggravated assault in the case. The district attorney said Rolfe kicked Brooks after he was shot, while his partner stood on his shoulder. The two did not give first aid for more than two minutes, prosecutors said.
The president said he had just received a report that a lawyer for Rolfe who shot Brooks claimed the policeman "heard a sound like... a gunshot" during the incident, calling that detail "a very interesting thing." Trump indicated he was unsure whether that was accurate, but that it would be left to prosecutors to determine the officer's fate.