‘God. He has a gun’: Man fired multiple shots in Duke ER before officer shot him
A man shot and killed by a Duke police officer at Duke University Hospital this month grabbed another police officer’s gun during a struggle and fired multiple shots in the emergency room, newly released records show.
Hospital officials had already said the man was being medically evaluated after being arrested and taken into custody by a Durham police officer Jan. 14 when he attacked and injured the officer.
Transcripts of two 911 calls made just after 11:30 p.m. indicate the man — whom a spokesperson said the hospital may not name because of patient privacy rules — grabbed the Durham officer’s gun and fired multiple shots.
In the first call, made at 11:32 p.m., a woman begins to tell the dispatcher she has a patient in the emergency room when “2 loud bangs” are heard, according to the transcript released Tuesday.
“God. He has a gun,” the woman says, before another “loud bang” is heard, the transcript states.
She later confirms to the dispatcher that, “a patient just fired his weapon.”
“We have a patient that took a gun from a cop and he’s shooting,” says another caller who gets through to a dispatcher just seconds later.
The caller says “We need somebody ‘round here right now,” before the dispatcher says officers are on their way.
“They’re already there,” the dispatcher replies.
The transcripts were released to The News & Observer on Tuesday upon a public records request.
The N&O requested audio of the calls but Duke spokesperson Michael Schoenfeld said the university can’t provide the recordings because it is unable to alter the callers’ voices to protect their identity, as state law requires.
What questions about shooting remain unanswered
The Duke police officer, whom Schoenfeld declined to identify citing an ongoing investigation into the shooting by the State Bureau of Investigation, responded to the emergency room after getting a call from health care staff, hospital officials said earlier.
The officer saw the man with a gun raised toward the Durham officer, prompting the Duke officer to shoot the man, officials said. The man was immediately treated by trauma staff, but he did not survive.
No other patients or hospital staff members were injured during the incident, officials said.
The N&O asked how the man was able to overpower the Durham officer and reach for his loaded gun, and why he was being medically evaluated at the hospital, but Schoenfeld declined to comment, citing the SBI’s investigation.
The N&O has also requested information from the Durham Police Department, which last week identified the city police officer whose custody the man was under as Officer C. W. Stone.
Durham police officials have not yet said what the man was originally arrested for, or if he faced any charges.
The Duke officer is currently on paid administrative leave, in accordance with the Duke University Police Department’s use of force policy, which authorizes officers to use lethal force in certain situations. The policy requires officers involved in use-of-force incidents involving serious injury or death to be placed on administrative leave with pay until they’re cleared to return to duty.
Will body camera footage be released?
Officials have said both the Durham and Duke officers were wearing body cameras during the shooting.
Under state law, law enforcement agencies can’t publicly release body camera footage from officer shootings on their own. Agencies must first file a petition in court, and only a judge can decide if and how much of the footage can be viewed by the public.
Lt. Randall Packard told the N&O last week that Durham police do not plan to petition for the release of footage from the shooting.
Schoenfeld declined to comment on whether university officials will seek the release of body camera footage, citing the SBI investigation.
The SBI investigates shootings by law enforcement officers, and is currently investigating three other recent officer shootings in the Triangle.
Those include an incident on Jan. 4 during which Durham County Sheriff’s deputies shot and killed a 28-year-old woman in Bahama after she allegedly pointed a gun at them, and an incident on Jan. 12 when Durham police officers shot and killed a 51-year-old man inside a Circle K in southern Durham who, according to police and a 911 call, was stabbing a store clerk with a glass bottle.
The SBI is also investigating a shooting on Jan. 11 in Raleigh, during which Raleigh police officers shot and killed a 43-year-old man from El Salvador following a crash on Interstate 440.
Once the SBI’s investigations into each of the shootings is complete, it will submit its findings to the district attorneys of Durham and Wake counties.
Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry and Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman will then decide if charges should be filed against any of the officers involved in each shooting.
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This story was originally published January 25, 2022 at 10:56 AM.
