Durham police officers involved in fatal shooting of man after domestic disturbance
The Durham Police Department said Saturday that its officers fatally shot a 30-year-old man during a struggle after responding to a domestic incident.
Officers were called to an incident between a man and woman around 5 a.m. Saturday at a house on Bevel Court, police said. When they arrived, they encountered a man who police said was uncooperative and physically combative.
A struggle occurred between the man — whose name is not being released at this time — and the officers. Shots were fired, DPD said.
The man sustained life-threatening injuries from the gunshots and was later pronounced dead at the hospital, DPD said.
“We would like to express condolences to everyone involved in this unfortunate situation. We are always saddened by any loss of life,” Police Chief C.J. Davis said in a statement.
The DPD officers, who were not named by the police department, have been placed on administrative leave with pay.
The incident is being investigated by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the DPD Professional Standards Division.
The Durham Police Department said it will complete a five-day report on the incident, and additional information will be released later.
Last August, DPD officers shot and killed a 37-year-old man named Shaun Christy at the New Hope Commons shopping center.
In that case, Christy had threatened suicide, and according to a police report about the incident, pointed a gun at officers and said, “Shoot me!” The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun previously reported.
The report said both officers — who were wearing body cameras — fired their weapons and also performed CPR on Christy after he was shot. Former Durham County District Attorney Roger Echols told the State Bureau of Investigation in a letter that he thought the actions of the officers were justified. Video from the officers’ body cameras was eventually released to the public after a court order.
It was not immediately clear if the officers were wearing body cameras during Saturday’s shooting.
Prior to today’s shooting, there had been nine homicides in Durham as of March 16, according to DPD statistics. There had been five homicides in Durham in 2018 over the same period of time.
Violent crime in Durham was down 13 percent in 2018 compared to the prior year, and was at a four-year low. But the city had 32 homicides last year, a 52 percent increase from 2017, The News & Observer has reported.
This story was originally published March 30, 2019 at 10:27 AM.
