Just released body cam footage shows an intense standoff between Charlotte police and an allegedly mentally disturbed man (at least that’s his mom’s story and she’s sticking to it) armed with . . . what turned out to be a blank-firing pistol. The suspect’s blanks proved to be no match for a real pistol and two AR-15s.
CMPD Releases Body Cam Video From December 1st Officer-Involved Shooting
CHARLOTTE, NC — CMPD has released new information and 911 calls from the officer-involved shooting that happened Saturday, December 1st in east Charlotte.
CMPD also says they have determined that the gun recovered at the scene was actually an Ekol Sava Magnum 9mm PAK, which is a replica blank-firing pistol. Police say the gun looks, sounds and operates like a real handgun, but does not fire live ammunition.
The shell casings found at the scene were also determined to be blanks.
On Saturday, officers say they responded to a call for service at a home on Winfield Drive and reported hearing shots being fired from inside the residence.
The caller was later identified as Bobby Morgan, 29. CMPD says Morgan had barricaded himself inside the home and was seen by officers displaying a weapon at the window.
CMPD’s SWAT team and negotiators responded to the scene to coordinate a peaceful resolution.
Reports say Morgan eventually came out of the house but refused to drop the gun, despite several verbal commands issued by officers.
In another article, Spectrum News Charlotte states, “In the video a woman can be heard screaming, “My son doesn’t have a gun, he has mental [health] issues.” Thanks for the info, mom. My mother was never fully aware of all the weapons I owned. I wonder did she even know Morgan had this blank pistol? Be that as it may, the cops have to go on what they are seeing and hearing at the moment, and that was something that looked and sounded like a real gun being fired at them.
Authorities say they perceived an imminent and deadly threat, which resulted in Officers Joshua Skipper, Edward Gonzalez and Derek Rud firing their weapons.
And so here is the footage. All of these videos are extremely long, especially one and three. So I’ve picked out key times in each one to view. Alternatively, ‘The Charolotte Observer’ has a nice edit of all these camera views combined that is only 5:42 long. You can see that one here.
Video 1 – This officer potions himself, re-positions himself, then waits . . .
38:45 shots fired
40:18 officer fires once with his AR.
Video 2 – Shows positioning of various SWAT officers until . . .
4:00 when the action starts.
Video 3 – Nothing to see here. An officer taking up a position behind a chain link fence until
. . . 35:50.
Morgan was immediately detained and provided medical attention before being transported to the hospital with gunshot wounds. Officials say at this time, his wounds do not appear to be life threatening.
Police have currently issued two warrants charging him with Communicating Threats, but say additional charges may be filed once he is released from the hospital.
The Observer further reports that, “The body camera videos from each of the three officers who shot Morgan were released to local activist Robert Dawkins, political director of the group Action NC (EDIT: they were formerly known as ACORN. Does that name ring a bell?), who filed a request for their release in December.
The three officers who fired their guns during the shooting —Joshua Skipper, Edward Gonzalez and Derek Rud — are on paid administrative assignment while separate criminal and internal investigations are ongoing.”
I hope Mr. ACORN, the D.A.’s office, and internal affairs are all thoroughly disappointed by what was revealed in these videos. I don’t see that the officers here had any other reasonable option here than to do what they did. No, that gun might not have been real, but put in those officers shoes, I wouldn’t have bet my life on that either.
