Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
The Charlotte Observer, N.C.
CONCORD, N.C. — The State Bureau of Investigation has begun a probe of the nonfatal shooting by a Concord police officer of a suspect in a car-theft case, the city’s police chief said Saturday.
The suspect, who Concord police say called 911 and said he wouldn’t be taken alive, was shot in the chest Friday night, authorities said, during a pursuit that backed up Interstate 85 northbound for hours.
The pursuit started at about 7:30 p.m., when Charlotte-Mecklenburg police tried to stop a car reported stolen in Tennessee. It didn’t pull over, and they followed the car up I-85 at a normal speed, without turning on their flashing blue lights.
When the car got to Concord, officers there picked up the pursuit. At some point after that, the man called 911 from the car and said he wasn’t going to be taken alive, Concord Police Chief Merl Hamilton said.
A Concord police officer was able to get in front of the stolen car and put down a spike strip, which flattened the car’s tires and forced the driver to stop.
As officers approached the stopped car, words were exchanged and a Concord police officer who has not yet been identified fired a shot, striking the suspect in the upper body, Hamilton said. WCNC-TV, the Observer’s news partner, reported that the suspect was shot in the chest. No officers were hurt and no shots were fired at them.
After the man was shot, Hamilton said, he got back into the car, drove another few hundred feet, then got out and surrendered.
He was taken to Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast. His injuries were not life-threatening, Hamilton said. The man’s identity had not yet been released, but police say he is from Tennessee.
Hamilton said officers looked into the car but did not search it because it was the scene of a shooting in which an officer was involved. Instead, Concord crime scene investigators waited with the car until SBI agents arrived about two hours later.
That’s why Concord police weren’t sure whether the suspect had a weapon, Hamilton said.
When the suspect gets out of the hospital, he’ll face charges for possessing a stolen vehicle and failing to pull over for police, Hamilton said.
Officers are still piecing together Friday night’s events, Hamilton said, and were trying to contact the suspect’s family members. Hamilton said he expects the names of the suspect and the officer who shot him will be released early this week.
SBI agents interviewed all officers involved in the incident Friday night, he said.
After the SBI has finished its investigation, the Concord Police Department will begin an internal investigation “to see whether policies and procedures were followed” in the shooting, Hamilton said.
Copyright 2007 The Charlotte Observer