Fox News host Jesse Watters accused Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard of engaging in a “political overcharge” of the former police officer who shot Rayshard Brooks last week.
Howard on Wednesday announced 11 separate charges against former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe, including felony murder, for the series of actions last Friday that led to Brooks’ death.
Discussing the charges on Wednesday’s “The Five,” Watters speculated that Howard’s “political overcharge” could be because he “is in a hotly contested runoff for reelection and he’s under state investigation for pocketing six figures that was supposed to go to the state to fight crime and it went into his personal bank account.”
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“So, that’s what that’s all about, but he’s playing with fire,” Watters continued. “We are looking at a huge crime wave in the next decade because of this. This is the Ferguson effect on steroids. Police now, especially Atlanta, they will pull back. They’ll let the streets run wild. If there is an arrest, I bet suspects are taking their chances with officers after this.”
The Fox News host observed that the officers gave Brooks “so many second chances” and were “so polite, so respectful” to the point that he resisted arrest.
“They asked him if he was okay, if he needed an ambulance and he pushed them in the face, wrestled with them, stole their taser,” he said. “He points that taser, fires it. Went right over the officer’s head. If it connects, it incapacitated the officer and he steals the firearm. He’s already stolen the taser. He can do whatever he wants.”
Watters suggested that, while police reform is needed, “people reform” is needed as well.
“If you want to fight the officer, fight him in court,” said the Fox News host. “You’re talking about if you have warrants? Well, that’s on you. But if you run if you resist, if you assault an officer, you’re racking up a massive amount of felonies that are going to haunt you for life.” (RELATED: ‘It Removes Race From The Equation’: Greg Gutfeld Details ‘Terrible Idea’ To Eliminate The Perception Of Racism In Policing)
“People need to be respectful of law enforcement,” he concluded. “Officer doesn’t even have to pull out the taser, doesn’t have to wrestle you, doesn’t have to pull out a firearm. All of these fines, these lives lost, these tickets, they can all be saved if people just start conducting themselves appropriately and that goes for everybody no matter who you are.”