Melissa Rolfe, stepmom to Officer Garrett Rolfe, has been fired from her job at Equity Prime Mortgage (EPM) after her stepson was charged with 11 alleged criminal violations, including felony murder, following a deadly encounter with Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta, Georgia.
The facts of the case in the shooting of Brooks are straightforward. According to police reports and body cameras, police (including Officers Rolfe and Devin Brosnan) conducted a field sobriety test on Rayshard Brooks after a local Wendy’s called 911 to report that Brooks was asleep behind the wheel in their drive thru. After 40 minutes of interaction, just after officers attempted to place Brooks under arrest, he assaulted Officers Rolfe and Brosnan, stole one of their tasers, attempted to flee and while running away, turned around and fired the taser at Officer Rolfe. In response, Officer Rolfe fatally shot Brooks.
After Atlanta District Attorney Paul Howard announced the charges against Officer Rolfe, Tucker Carlson was one of the first to report the news of Melissa Rolfe’s firing on Thursday June 18. Citing unnamed sources, Carlson said, “Apparently she was fired and her only crime was being Officer Rolfe’s stepmother. According to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to this program, Rolfe was promised that her job was safe. But today, she was told ‘we have to terminate our relationship with you.’”
According to reporter Emily Larson, EPM contacted Carlson’s show after the segment aired, and said Melissa Rolfe was fired due to social media posts.
The timing of Melissa Rolfe’s termination, just one day after Officer Rolfe was charged, has raised questions as to the real cause of her termination.
EPM did respond to a request for comment from The Daily Citizen, but no longer cited social media posts as the cause for Melissa Rolfe’s firing.
“Melissa Rolfe’s termination was a direct result of her actions in the workplace and a violation of company policy,” EPM told The Daily Citizen. “While working with Melissa as she transitioned to a leave of absence granted by our organization, we discovered she violated company policy and created an uncomfortable working environment for many of our employees. As an HR director, she ultimately lost the confidence of her peers, leadership, and many employees who no longer felt comfortable engaging with her. We value diversity of thought and respect Melissa’s personal views and the views of all employees; however, when those views create a hostile working environment, we must make difficult decisions to part ways.”
EPM did not clarify what specific actions by Melissa Rolfe took which violated company policy.
Defense lawyers for Officer Garrett Rolfe told The Daily Citizen that they had no comment on the firing of Melissa Rolfe, and The Daily Citizen was unable to reach Melissa Rolfe for comment.
EPM’s website, which appears to have been locked down, only provides a short statement regarding Melissa Rolfe’s firing. Its Twitter account, however, describes it as a growing residential mortgage company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, licensed in 47 states.
Shortly before Tucker Carlson’s show on June 18, EPM posted a statement about diversity and inclusion to its Twitter account, while also saying they had to let an employee go because they expressed inappropriate views. It appears this employee was Melissa Rolfe.
“Our unwavering commitment to always doing the right thing has led us to sever ties with an employee who has expressed views that do not align with our culture,” the statement began. “We do not tolerate racism, discrimination or injustices of any kind. We will continue to… guarantee diversity every step of the way.”
It’s unclear at this point what inappropriate views Melissa Rolfe may have expressed, or how EMP’s termination of her employment squares with their commitment to diversity and inclusion.
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Photo from Twitter/Marjorie Taylor Greene
