CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte Mecklenburg police have been involved in two deadly officer-involved shootings so far this New Year, which is more than the number of homicide cases it has investigated.
Channel 9 asked what new body cameras may have captured at those two scenes, but Channel 9 learned the police department’s violent crime officers who carry out some of the most dangerous assignments don't have them at all.
Last year, the city spent $7 million toward buying the lipstick-sized cameras for 1,400 patrol officers to wear, but that big purchase didn't cover special operations that includes SWAT and members of the Violent Criminal Apprehension Team. City leaders said that omission could have come down to resources.
"It's just a matter of priority. We've got funding for a certain number and the goal is to put them on each officer so you've got to figure out how to best use your resources," said Councilwoman Julie Eiselt.
Eight Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department VCAT officers on remain on leave after an officer-involved shooting on Watson Drive Sunday night.
A murder suspect shot an officer in the leg before officers fired back at him, killing him while trying to serve an arrest warrant, but there is no video of the incident to go along with the investigation because officers didn't have body cameras.
Police said there was video captured of Tuesday's officer-involved shooting at Forestbrook apartments in west Charlotte since that involved uniformed patrol officers
A representative said CMPD is looking at how much it would cost to outfit officers in special operations before making a request to council to buy them.
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