People gather near the hearse carrying the body of Rayshard Brooks after his June 23 funeral.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

People gather near the hearse carrying the body of Rayshard Brooks after his June 23 funeral.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A former Atlanta police officer, charged with fatally shooting a Black man in a Wendy’s parking lot in June, has sued the mayor and interim police chief over his firing.

In the suit filed on Tuesday against Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and interim police chief Rodney Bryant, former officer Garrett Rolfe’s attorneys claim that his use of deadly force against Rayshard Brooks had been justifiable.

“The Petitioner has suffered irreparable injury to his personal and
professional reputation as a result of his unlawful dismissal. As a result of the
unlawful action of the Respondent, the Petitioner has become a public spectacle and object of ridicule. His unlawful termination was unnecessarily public and has attracted national media attention,” the suit reads.

Rolfe, who is white, was fired from the Atlanta police force on June 13, a day after he allegedly shot and killed Brooks, in an incident that further escalated racial tensions and discussions on police treatment of Black Americans.

The same day Rolfe’s lawsuit was filed, prosecutors asked the court to revoke the former officer’s $500,000 bond, alleging that he had traveled to Florida without permission, according to the Associated Press.

Rolfe faces 11 charges, including felony murder, in Brooks’s killing.

Late in the night of June 12, Rolfe and another officer, Devin Brosnan, responded to a call that 27-year-old Brooks had fallen asleep in the Wendy’s drive-through lane. After interacting for more than 40 minutes, Rolfe and Brosnan attempted to handcuff Brooks, who struggled and broke free from their restraint.

Brooks began to run away. After a brief chase, Rolfe fired at Brooks, shooting him twice in the back.

Brosnan, the other officer involved in the attempted arrest, is facing lesser charges and remains with the Atlanta Police Department.