Wake DA says Raleigh officer was justified in fatal shooting. Mayor sets city curfew.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Thursday that a Raleigh police officer acted lawfully in shooting Keith Collins six times after the man fled on foot carrying what proved to be a BB pistol.
Collins was shot Jan. 30, after a 911 caller reported a man with a gun outside a Big Lots store near Glenwood Avenue in North Raleigh.
In Freeman’s ruling, she said state law allows officers to use deadly force to defend themselves against what they consider imminent harm, and that being forced to make split-second decisions factors into what is reasonable.
“Based on all the evidence available, it is the conclusion of the district attorney that Officer (W.P.) Tapscott reasonably believed that his life was endangered when he shot Mr. Collins and that therefore the use of force was lawful,” Freeman wrote.
Shortly after the DA released her report, Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin issued a citywide curfew Friday and Saturday nights from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. in advance of planned protests.
An event is planned Friday at 7 p.m. at the Wake County Courthouse in downtown Raleigh to protest a police officer shooting Jacob Blake in the back in Kenosha, Wisc. Police haven’t said why the officer shot Blake, The Associated Press reported. Blake survived but is now paralyzed, his family has said.
In a press conference Thursday, Baldwin said the decision to issue a curfew was made Wednesday, before they knew the DA would release her report on Thursday. She said the city is not expecting anything other than a peaceful protest.
“We firmly believe that those coming down to protest should have their voices heard,” Baldwin said. “We firmly believe in the mission of social justice. We also believe that we need to take action to address these issues. What we want is to find solutions that we can work on together, and most importantly, we want peace in our community.
“We want to be able to do in a way where everyone is heard. But everyone is also protected. And that includes the heart of our city.”
What bodycam footage showed
Police bodycam footage screened for journalists in February showed Tapscott stop his car and approach Collins as he walked down the sidewalk. Collins briefly raised his hands and began running down the street as the officer followed closely behind shouting, “Show me your hands!”
As Collins ran, Collins turned to face Tapscott several times, placing his hands near his waist or coat pocket, the video showed. After four viewings, reporters and spectators agreed the video did not clearly show whether Collins had the gun in his hand when he turned.
Freeman had a different perspective.
“In slowing down the body cam video, it is possible to see Mr. Collins turn and point what appears to be a gun in Officer Tapscott’s direction prior to Officer Tapscott firing at Mr. Collins,’’ Freeman wrote in her ruling. “This video also shows Mr. Collins raising back up after he is on the ground and again pointing an object in the direction of Officer Tapscott.”
Freeman’s report said Tapscott fired multiple shots after seeing what he believed to be a gun in Collins’ hand. Tapscott told Collins to drop the gun, according to Freeman’s report. Tapscott fired more shots, the report said, after Collins appeared to raise a weapon. The officer took cover and reloaded but did not fire more, the report said.
The autopsy showed Collins was shot six times and had several superficial injuries, the report said. A Daisy air pistol was recovered near where he had been shot.
Name chanted at protests
Thursday, Collins’ family said they did not want to comment on Freeman’s report.
Gloria Mayo, Collins’ mother, has appeared at Black Lives Matter protests this summer in Raleigh following George Floyd’s death in police custody in late May. Protesters have chanted her son’s name as a call for an end to police violence, along with others who have been fatally shot by Raleigh police.
At a July protest, Mayo said police “need to be held accountable.”
“[W.B.] Tapscott killed my son on January the 30th,” she said. “He shot at him 11 times. First he shot at him nine times, hit him three times, then he reloaded his gun while he’s on the ground bleeding and shot him four more times. Then they handcuffed him. “
Keith Collins’ name is expected to be mentioned again at Friday’s protest, along with Soheil Mojarrad and Akiel Denkins, two men killed by Raleigh police in recent years.
Mayo spoke to The News & Observer in July about her son’s death and said he had a developmental disability.
“Never in a million years did I think something like this would happen. Not to Keith because so many people knew him. Not to Keith,” she said.
Raleigh mayor sets curfew
In a Thursday press conference, Baldwin explained the decision to issue a curfew this weekend.
“My biggest concern is that we have a repeat of what happened, and we don’t want to see that happen again,” she said, referring to the protests on May 30 and 31.
“So this is a precautionary move. A number of business owners in our downtown and elsewhere have asked for a curfew.”
The protests in May, held days after Floyd was killed, started without incident, as the community came together to remember Floyd. But a few hours later, the protests took a turn. The Raleigh Police Department deployed tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters. After the protest dispersed, some people vandalized and looted stores downtown.
“We have never seen anything like we saw that evening,” Baldwin said. “Were we unprepared? Yes. That’s why we’re determined to be prepared this time.”
Baldwin said the police department is working on a plan for how to respond to protests this weekend. She said officers will continue to focus on de-escalation and treat Friday’s event as a peaceful protest.
“I think it’s obvious that we were overwhelmed the night of the protest. We have police now who are planning to close roads. We feel that we want to prevent collisions between cars and protesters,” she said, adding that there would be emergency and fire response teams available to respond.
In response to a question about the Raleigh Police Department’s use of tear gas and rubber bullets during the May 30 protest, Baldwin did not say whether or not police would respond with tear gas or rubber bullets.
“This is a peaceful protest, and I think what you’ve seen over the past couple months is we have had many peaceful protests with police,” she said.
There is a list of exemptions for the curfew at raleighnc.gov or call 919-996-2999.
A prayer vigil is being organized for 4 p.m. Saturday, Baldwin also said, and residents are being asked to go outside Saturday night at 9 p.m. and light a candle, or turn a flashlight or cell phone light on “to shine a light on peace and justice.” Details will be announced soon, she said.
This story was originally published August 27, 2020 at 3:39 PM.