Body camera footage has been released of the fatal police shooting of Dennis Bodden, a 46-year-old unarmed Black man who was experiencing a mental health crisis, WCNC reports.
The encounter between North Carolina, Pineville police and Bodden unfolded on May 14 after he was accused of stealing from a Food Lion grocery store. As Pineville officers approached him, Bodden kept walking to a nearby apartment complex.
One officer used a stun gun on Bodden after he didn't comply with police orders to stop walking. After being tased, Bodden fell and got back up. He appeared to bite an officer in body camera footage of the incident.
Bodden was met by more police officers at the apartment complex. During a struggle with officers, Bodden appeared to reach for one of their guns. An officer then shot Bodden multiple times.
“We got him,” one officer said while handcuffing Bodden. “Good guys always win.”
Bodden became unresponsive as more first responders arrived at the scene.
Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather chose not to pursue criminal charges in the case, saying “there is no likelihood that twelve jurors would unanimously agree that the actions of Sergeant Roberts in firing his gun, constituted a violation of criminal law.”
Bodden’s mother, Cleopatra Bodden, said her son had schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. She believes her son thought he was taking food from home.
“If you tell someone to stop … and they’re not reacting, you should know that there is something else going on — that that person is not stable,” she said. “And they didn’t take that into consideration.”
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