Witness, family dispute CMPD’s narrative about what happened before officer shot and killed man Friday afternoon

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The NC State Bureau of Investigation is investigating after a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer shot and killed a man following a foot chase in north Charlotte Friday afternoon.

It happened just before three Friday afternoon on LaSalle Street. CMPD Chief Estella Patterson says officers were responding to an unrelated call when they spotted a group engaged in what appeared to be a “criminal transaction.” Police say one man immediately ran. An officer pursued him on foot, opening fire after the man allegedly showed a gun.

Patterson says, “Officers pursued the individual on foot. Then the individual produced a firearm and officers perceived an imminent deadly threat. One officer fired their service weapon, striking the individual who then fell to the ground.”

The man who was shot was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police say they recovered a firearm on the scene.

The shooting has sparked outrage from the man’s family.  Family members identified him as Curtis Massey. They dispute the police narrative, claiming he would never threaten cops, and alleging he was shot in the back.

His aunt tells WCCB, “He would never have threatened an officer. If the officer had told him to stop or turn around or whatever his commands were, he would have done it. He shouldn’t have never been shot in the back at all.”

A witness on the scene, Shannon Haines, told reporters that Massey never touched the gun that was in his waistband, and actually tripped and fell down as he was running away before the officer fired multiple rounds at him. Haines says two other officers on the scene never pulled out their guns. Haines says 36-year-old Massey leaves behind a wife and three children.

The officer involved has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation per standard protocol.