NC state trooper shoots, kills man after Durham traffic stop led to chase

A Creedmoor man was fatally shot by a North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper Thursday after a high-speed chase following a routine traffic stop, according to ABC11, The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner.

The pursuit started just before 9:45 a.m. on Interstate 85 southbound in Durham County near mile marker 185.

The trooper pulled over the driver for not displaying a registration plate on his pickup truck, according to the State Highway Patrol.

The man allegedly gave the trooper false information, however, troopers were able to identify him as 53-year-old Philip Aiken Brown of Creedmoor, the Highway Patrol said in a release. Authorities also learned that Brown had “multiple active orders” for his arrest, the release said.

Before officers could take him into custody, Brown drove off and led troopers on a chase down I-85 and took the Red Mill Road exit, where he lost control and crashed the truck into an embankment next to Red Mill Road.

Troopers say Brown refused to comply with commands to display his hands and when he did, he was holding a “dark object,” the Highway Patrol said in a release. The News & Observer has asked the State Highway Patrol to identify the object, and whether it was a weapon.

The trooper shot Brown, and he was treated at the scene until medical personnel arrived. He later died at the hospital.

The trooper who fired the shot has been identified as Nolan J. Neal. He wasn’t injured in the incident.

He has been a member of NCSHP for four-and-a-half years and is based in Durham County. He has been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of an internal investigation. This is standard protocol for the agency when a trooper is involved in a shooting.

The State Bureau of Investigation is also involved in the investigation, which also is standard procedure.

Traffic was closed in the area for hours after the shooting.

This story was originally published May 8, 2025 at 4:46 PM.