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(Update: On July 16, CMPD released an update into the investigation of Officer Curlee: “After a thorough review of the evidence, the [Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Chain of Command Review]Board determined that the shooting was not justified. On July 14, 2008, Officer J.S. Curlee's employment with the Charlotte – Mecklenburg Police Department was terminated,” the police statement reads.
While North Carolina law prohibits the release of the results of the internal review, Police Chief Rodney Monroe is releasing the following information from the Criminal Investigations file. Chief Monroe will continue to release as much information as possible about cases of public interest so long as it does not interfere with an on-going investigation or violate the law.)
In 2008, there have been two death investigations involving use of force by police:
• March 22: Police responded to a call for service at the Food Lion at 3024 Prosperity Church Road regarding a disturbance. Police reports say when Officer Jerry Dawson arrived, he witnessed Darryl Wayne Turner assaulting the store manager by throwing an object at him. "Mr. Turner appeared to be in a highly agitated state. He refused all verbal commands and advanced towards the officer. The officer, Jerry Dawson Jr., deployed his Taser to get Mr. Turner under control," the report states. Turner was pronounced dead at Carolina's Medical Center-University and an autopsy later revealed that Turner died from a heart attack. Dawson was not charged by the Mecklenburg County District Attorney's office in Turner's death.
(Update: Police also released an update into the investigation of officer Dawson: “After a thorough review of the evidence, the Board determined that the initial decision to discharge the TASER was within our procedures, but the prolonged use of the TASER was not. Officer Dawson has been suspended for five days and he will receive additional training concerning the use of the TASER. The Department is currently reviewing its policies and procedures concerning the TASER,” the statement reads. )
• May 20: In an incident that brought national attention to the city, Aaron Winchester was shot and killed by officer David Jester following a foot chase. Jester was responding to a domestic call and saw Winchester, 21, walking down Sylvania Avenue. As Winchester ran from the officer, he reached into his pants pocket and removed a gun, police said. Jester fired four shots at Winchester, whom police said pointed the gun at the officer. Two shots hit Winchester in the back. Since the shooting, reports have surfaced of conflicting witness statements. Local media outlets have reported that some people on the scene claimed Winchester never pointed a gun at the officer.
Following the shooting of Winchester, the NAACP and the Rev. Al Sharpton held protests and a town meeting in Charlotte. The State Bureau of Investigation was also brought in to examine the shooting.
Incidents such as the death of Winchester, according to community leaders like Dwayne Collins, president of the Black Political Caucus, leave a bad taste in the mouth of Charlotte's African-American community.
Collins says his organization plans to meet with Monroe about use-of-force issues, especially dealing with officers employing deadly force. For Collins, the policy in which officers are able to say that they used force because they felt their life was in danger is too open-ended.
"We want to talk to the chief about implementing some specificity as far as when deadly use of force should be used and shouldn't be used and not just because an officer makes a pronouncement that his or her life was threatened," he says. "That's just a little too vague and ambiguous."
Collins suggests that with more specific guidelines in place about using deadly force, there would be a more comfortable relationship between African-Americans and police in the city, which for the most part is positive.
"The police officer actually shot [Winchester] twice in the back and once again said he felt his life was in danger. I find it hard to believe that anybody's life is in danger, let alone a police officer, when somebody's back is facing you. If they are allegedly running away from you, how in the world could your life be in danger? But overall, I would say the relationship between CMPD and the black community is fairly good, but there is always room for improvement. When you have issues like the Winchester shooting and others that come up, it definitely does not do anything to bolster goodwill between African-Americans and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department," Collins says.
Monroe says when it comes to uses of force, the community is always going to want police to use its best judgment and hold officers to a high standard.
He adds that over the years, people have grown to expect a lot from CMPD and that this department and many others try to deliver what the community needs. Monroe also says that on use of force issues, the department has to show the public that officers are trained properly and have the best tools and equipment to deal with the changing environment out there.
