Cops asked him to turn around 6 times
Tasered him twice which was ineffective
He looked at the cops so he knew they were there and speaking to him
Turned toward cops and began to raise his arm with the gun in hand
Turns out the gun was a broken BB gun but no one knew until after the investigation
They just had a public hearing with the Roanoke Police Chief and AG on TV.
Always nice to hear a good ending.
By Amy Friedenberger amy.friedenberger@roanoke.com 981-3356
Two Roanoke County police officers involved in the February shooting death of Kionte Desean Spencer will not face criminal charges, Roanoke County Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Leach said Wednesday, as he and the police chief released evidence that he said proves the officers were faced with no other alternative than to shoot.
"I can't in good faith bring criminal charges," said Leach, who said Roanoke County's investigation was one of the most thorough he's ever examined.
Chief Howard Hall said a separate investigation done with the professional standards unit resulted in officers being in compliance with policy. The names of the officers will not be made public to protect their privacy and security, Hall said. Neither has been involved in a prior shooting.
Spencer, 18, was shot twice — in the hip and near the collarbone — near the busy intersection of Brambleton Avenue and Electric Road on the evening of Feb. 26. He was armed with a broken BB pistol.
The incident began about 7:15 p.m. when police received a report of a man wearing a bandanna over his face and carrying what appeared to be a gun while walking along the road near the Cave Spring Corners shopping center.
Police caught up with Spencer — who was wearing headphones — and commanded him to drop his weapon. One officer deployed a Taser two times, but it was ineffective, police said. Near the intersection of Normandy Lane and Electric Road, Spencer turned around to face police, and two officers opened fire.
A total of three shots were fired, and each officer struck Spencer once.
Hall said there were no drugs or alcohol in Spencer's system.
The police shooting inspired some outrage among a group of people calling for an independent review of the shooting, and for the police department to release video of the incident.
On Wednesday morning, Hall showed segments of police dash-cam footage to four members of the local media, including The Roanoke Times. Roanoke County Supervisors Al Bedrosian and Jason Peters and County Administrator Tom Gates were also in the room.
The video shows Spencer turning around numerous times, apparently aware of the police presence. Police car lights are flashing and an officer is heard shouting "Hey" and "Put the gun down" multiple times.
At one point, an officer requests a beanbag gun. Hall said the officer with that gun was about three minutes away. The shots were fired before he arrived.
The video segments that were shown Wednesday morning do not provide a clear image of Spencer raising the gun at police, but Hall said four officers said they saw him doing so.
Hall does not intend to release the video to the public, saying that he didn't want it used inappropriately and that a loss of life is not something that should go viral.
http://www.roanoke.com/news/crime/roano ... 62f3b.html
