CMPD Says Suspect Fired at CMPD Detective
CHARLOTTE, NC — We are learning new details about a deadly officer-involved shooting in East Charlotte, and the suspect CMPD says fired at an undercover detective.
That suspect is being linked to a Mexican gang. His death is also bringing calls from the Latino community for more police transparency.
“He was a native over here on the east side of Charlotte,” says East Charlotte resident Christian Perea. “He was a great guy. He was a father.”
The picture of Josue Javier Diaz painted by friends and family is hard to square with a social media persona and the events that played out Thursday in East Charlotte.
Diaz was shot and killed by an undercover CMPD detective, after what police describe as a vehicle collision and road rage style confrontation in which Diaz pulled a gun.
“The witness has a different story,” says Hector Vaca, Action NC’s Charlotte President. “So what we need is more evidence from the police to show what actually happened, rather than just the word of the officer.”
CMPD released new details Friday, saying that physical evidence and witness testimony confirm that Diaz fired his weapon at the undercover detective. The weapon recovered at the scene used by diaz was a .22 caliber revolver. And a bullet hole and projectile in the undercover detective’s vehicle was determined to be a .22 caliber round.
Family and friends, including a witness who was in the vehicle with Diaz, are questioning CMPD’s account.
“His best friend is right there saying that he never came out with no gun,” says Perea, who says he was Diaz’s tattoo artist and friend. “He just came out the car trying to apologize for side-swiping it, or whatever it was.”
Despite denials from those close to Diaz that he was in a gang, pictures he posted on social media show Diaz with tattoos representing the SUR-13 gang. There are also pictures of Diaz with several guns. His family says he had a permit.
More than 200 people, including Diaz’s mother, came out tonight for a candlelight vigil and march to the shooting scene on Albemarle Road. They also put out a call for more transparency from police and local government.
“It’s definitely showing that this issue is broader than just one community,” says Vaca. “Many of us just feel like we’re under attack on a daily basis.”
CMPD Chief Kerr Putney met this morning with east side community and Latino leaders to discuss the shooting. Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts is working to put together a larger meeting with the community in the next few days.
