Body cam shows CMPD officers deescalate intense encounter

CHARLOTTE — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police body camera video from August 2020 shows a moment when life or death was on the line.

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Fortunately, the CMPD officers did not have to fire their guns but it shows how they had to make a split-second decision during an encounter at an apartment complex in Steele Creek that was spiraling out of control.

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“He took one step and then he was already on top of me,” Detective Richard Colpitts recalled. “He started screaming, ‘Kill me, kill me, shoot me!’”

In the video at the top of this webpage, veteran crime reporter Mark Becker walks through the process where two CMPD officers deescalated the intense situation, which saved a teen’s life.

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Cox Media Group