Body camera footage reveals moments before police shot man outside Gastonia restaurant

GASTONIA, N.C. — Newly released police body camera video which shows when a man was shot by Gastonia police is shining a light on the challenge faced by many officers.

It shows an officer put into a difficult situation and forced to make a split-second decision. The officer is pleading with a man at the height of a mental health crisis while holding a gun.

Before the encounter that ended with a shooting outside a Buffalo Wild Wings last August, witness Keith Collins said he saw James Roberts Jr. in his car holding a gun in his mouth.

“I started screaming at him, telling him don’t shoot himself don’t shoot himself,” Collins said. “That was scary. Scary moment.”

Seconds later, officers arrived, saw Roberts still holding the gun in his car and tried to get him to drop his gun.

“32 times, he ordered the man to drop his gun,” District Attorney Locke Bell said. “No one else gets out of a car and confronts someone with a gun in their hand, but the police. It’s a horrible situation when a law enforcement officer is forced to fire in self-defense.”

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But, Roberts pleaded with the officer to shoot him and he even threatened to shoot the officer. When Roberts started to raise the gun and after a minute of back and forth, Roberts was shot, but survived.

Mike Chambers, who is a retired Gastonia detective and hostage negotiator, said officers are trained to protect the public and themselves first, but try to de-escalate a situation with an armed suspect when it’s possible.

“We also try to look at the area to make sure that we can save all of the lives that we can including his,” Chambers said.

Roberts pleaded guilty Monday to assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer, which means he will be on probation after six months in jail.

His attorney presented another side of him.

“Jimmy has served in the Texas National Guard for a little over four years at this point,” defense attorney Matthew Hawkins said.

Hawkins said Roberts is an IT specialist in the National Guard and he was in the area visiting family.

He had what Hawkins called a "difficult conversation" with his best friend back in Texas when he lost control here and went for his gun.

Hawkins said if Roberts was going to hurt anyone, it was himself.

“The first words out of his mouth were, 'Please kill me, please kill me. Please shoot me,’” Hawkins said.

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