Wake DA clears Raleigh officer in Denkins shooting

The Raleigh police officer who killed a fleeing man on Feb. 29 fired his gun in self-defense, according to Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman.

In a report released Wednesday, Freeman said DNA and other physical evidence support the account of the event that Officer D.C. Twiddy provided within hours of the shooting.

Akiel Denkins, 24, was shot four times behind a home at 1117 S. East St. in Southeast Raleigh.

Twiddy, a seven-year member of the Raleigh Police Department, chased Denkins from Bragg Street to a chain-link fence between two houses on East Street in an attempt to arrest him for failing to appear in court several weeks earlier on a felony drug charge.

The two struggled at the fence, according to Freeman’s report, before Twiddy fired his gun seven times in a 10-second sequence that left the Southeast Raleigh neighborhood searching for answers and the city calling for transparency in the investigation of the officer-involved shooting.

Denkins’ family learned Wednesday morning that Freeman did not plan to take the case to a Wake County grand jury or pursue criminal charges.

On Wednesday evening, Denkins’ mother, Rolanda Byrd, spoke at a vigil at Bible Way Temple. She said she was hurt, angry and disappointed in the decision not to pursue charges against Twiddy, but not surprised.

“Because we've seen this before,” she said. “This time it just happened to be my son.”

“Lives have been forever changed, and we are committed to building trust and strengthening relationships in Raleigh to ensure the health and safety of both our officers and the public,” McFarlane said in a statement released Wednesday morning.

Unlike other cities where officer-involved shootings have led to violent protests, Raleigh has remained peaceful. McFarlane and Raleigh Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown thanked the community for its patience during “a stressful time for our city.”

“The loss of a life is always profoundly regrettable, and my heart goes out to everyone affected by the death of Akiel Denkins,” Deck-Brown said. “As the healing process continues, my goal is to work with the Raleigh community to ensure that we all do everything we can to make such occurrences as unlikely as possible.”

Freeman stressed that the evidence did not support criminal charges. “The law authorizes an officer to use deadly force to prevent death or serious injury to himself, providing that his threat assessment is reasonably made,” the report states.

Twiddy told investigators that while he and Denkins struggled near a chain-link fence, he could feel Denkins reaching for a gun in his waistband.

Twiddy said the gun appeared to be a Smith & Wesson revolver. A gun found at the scene had been reported stolen in North Raleigh on Jan. 31. Though investigators were able to track the gun through several sales, they had not been able to link it to Denkins before that day. Denkins’ DNA was on the gun, according to the report, but the gun was not fired.

Swabs from the grip, trigger, trigger guard and top and sides of the .38 revolver did not reveal the presence of blood on the gun, but the “predominant DNA profile from the skin cell-touch swabs generated a match to Denkins,” according to the report.

There was no evidence of DNA from Twiddy on the stolen gun.

Twiddy said he ordered Denkins to drop the gun. The officer said he reached for his own gun with his right hand and fired two rounds while Denkins was raising his handgun. Twiddy said he then felt Denkins grab for his service weapon.

Twiddy told investigators that he stepped back and fired additional rounds at Denkins.

Denkins’ DNA was found on the barrel of Twiddy’s gun, according to the report.

Bullets’ path

An autopsy determined that Denkins had been shot four times – once in each arm, in the right shoulder and in the right chest – but medical examiners said they aren’t able to determine the sequence of the wounds, the report states.

One of the shots in the upper right arm area, 1 1/4 inches below his shoulder, was from the back to the front with the bullet traveling from the right side to the left, lodging in Denkins’ clavicle, according to the report. Another bullet was fired into Denkins in front of his armpit. That bullet, which struck both lungs and Denkins’ aorta, traveled downward and toward his back.

The state medical examiner’s office has yet to release the final autopsy report, but the office has said Denkins’ wounds were consistent with Twiddy’s account of the shooting, according to the report.

“Based on all the evidence available, it is the conclusion of the District Attorney that Officer Twiddy shot Mr. Denkins in self-defense and as a matter of last resort and only because he reasonably believed his own life was in danger,” Freeman said in a statement. “No criminal charges in this matter are warranted based on the evidence available.”

In compiling the SBI report, agents interviewed 41 witnesses, including police officers, firefighters, paramedics and residents.

Of the 30 people interviewed in the neighborhood, two offered accounts that differed from Twiddy’s but also from what the physical evidence showed, according to Freeman's report.

The two people whose accounts were different said they saw Twiddy shoot Denkins.

Denkins’ family and several attorneys working with them were reviewing the report Wednesday and declined to comment immediately. One question that remained unanswered in the report is how the gun that had Denkins’ DNA on it ended up 6 to 8 feet away from his body. Freeman said Twiddy told investigators he did not remember, that the gun could have been kicked out of the way during the struggle. Freeman said that detail is not inconsistent with Twiddy’s overall account.

“This shooting is a tragedy for all involved,” Freeman said. “The Denkins family has suffered a tremendous loss. However, the investigation has conclusively determined that Officer Twiddy acted consistently with his training and experience.”

Lack of trust

The comments from the mayor and police chief come at a time when some Southeast Raleigh residents say they’re losing trust in city police and the criminal justice system. Activists with the Raleigh Police Accountability Community Task Force this month held a rally outside City Hall, where they called for Raleigh leaders to introduce additional oversight for city police.

Resident Akiba Byrd, who led the rally and has called Denkins’ death a murder, said he’s disappointed but not surprised by the district attorney’s ruling.

“Where we go from here is where we were going anyway. We already knew there was a problem, and we’re going to just keep working on what we’re already working on,” Byrd said.

“We’re not deterred, we’re reinforced. We have renewed focus and energy knowing our work is more needed than ever.”

Members of Byrd’s group, Raleigh PACT, said that Raleigh authorities police black communities more aggressively than they do others, so much so that some residents are afraid to file complaints to the city because they fear police will retaliate. City Councilman Corey Branch, who represents Southeast Raleigh, said afterward that he’s interested in re-examining the system for reviewing complaints against police.

Branch on Wednesday said the city needs to work together with residents to deal with a number of complex issues, including housing and the police-community relationship.

“Finding ways to build positive relationships is the only way to build trust,” Branch said.

Staff writer Ron Gallagher contributed to this report.

This story was originally published April 13, 2016 at 11:01 AM with the headline "Wake DA clears Raleigh officer in Denkins shooting."