Tyler Perry To Pay For Rayshard Brooks' Funeral & His Children's Educations

Tyler Perry is covering the funeral expenses of Rayshard Brooks— a black man who was shot and killed by an Atlanta police officer on Friday (June 12) — and has also offered to pay for Rayshard's four children's college educations.

A source told People, the 50-year-old media mogul "spoke to Rayshard's family and wanted to do something to help." The insider added, "his heart goes out to the family during this tragic time."

According to the outlet, Tyler has also offered to pay for the Rayshard's four children's college educations. The 27-year-old is survived by his wife, Tomika Miller, and children: Dream, 1, Memory, 2, Blessing, 8, and Mekai, 13.

During a press conference on Monday (June 15), Rayshard's family attorney, Chris Stewart, thanked Tyler for offering to pray for the funeral expenses. "Lastly, we do want to thank Tyler Perry who we spoke with who will be taking care of the funeral for the family," he said. "Support like that, people who are actually in the community that love the community that want healing, and families like this should never have to go through something like this. It’s a step forward, and we want to thank him."

Rayshard was killed by former officer Garrett Rolfe in a Wendy’s parking lot on Friday night.

Police received a call about a man, who was later identified as Rayshard, being asleep while parked in the drive-thru. When they arrived, they found Rayshard, who admitted that he'd been drinking and said he could just lock up his car and walk to his sister's house nearby. After talking to Rayshard for nearly 30 minutes, the officers attempted to place Rayshard under arrest, saying he was too drunk to drive. However, a brief scuffle ensued and ultimately former officer Garrett fired three shots at Rayshard, killing him.

In the wake of Rayshard's death, Garrett Rolfe was fired from the Atlanta Police Department. Additionally, Atlanta police chief, Erika Shields, resigned from her position, and the other officer involved, Devin Brosnan, was placed on administrative duty.

Rayshard's death came amid weeks of protests against police brutality and racial injustice, which was sparked by the murder of George Floyd last month.

Photo: Getty Images