Body cam video released after CMPD officers shoot, kill man near Food Lion

CHARLOTTE — Footage from police officer body-worn cameras has been released after a man was shot and killed by officers last summer.

Kevin Boston, 45, died at the hospital after he was shot in a confrontation with CMPD officers on June 26, 2022. Police said he was a suspect in an armed robbery at a Food Lion on Tuckaseegee Road.

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The Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office announced in February that the officers won’t face charges.

On Tuesday, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department released 72 videos from the body-worn cameras of officers at the scene.

The video

The body camera video from the officer who fired first shows Boston walking on the sidewalk and the officer driving down Tuckaseegee Road. The camera audio turns on as he exits his vehicle. You can see him walk around the car and then approach Boston, who fit the description of the person a 911 caller said robbed the nearby Food Lion.

“Hey boss, mind if I talk to you real quick?” he said.

Immediately, Boston drops the bags in his hands.

“All right, oh [expletive]! Oh [expletive]! Hands! Get your [expletive] hands up.”

He then pulls out what police say is a gun.

“Hands!” an officer yells.

Officers claim Boston pointed the gun at them and they radio that in.

“Hey, we got a gun point,” they said.

One officer retreats and another is beside a police car as the officer takes cover. You can see Boston picking up his bags and starting to walk down the sidewalk again.

“Headquarters, we need one,” an officer says, then, “Hey drop this gun! Drop the gun! Drop the gun! Drop the gun!”

As Boston comes back into sight, the first shots are fired while Boston is walking away with his back to the officers. Police said the gun was still in his hand.

Boston was still walking after the first shots. Then, there were more shots.

“Drop the gun! Drop it!” officers yelled.

Six shots, then “OK he’s still pointing, he’s still pointing!” then seven shots, then one more. At this point, Boston is on the ground.

“Shots fired, shots fired, hold your hands up!”

About 45 seconds later, there are more sirens as backup arrives.

Officers were concerned Boston was still armed, so they waited nearly 10 more minutes before officers swarmed Boston, handcuffing him and then rendering first aid. He was taken to the hospital where he later died.

Police said they later determined he was the man who robbed that Food Lion. The State Bureau of Investigation investigated this case and the district attorney reviewed that report before deciding not to charge the officers.

February 2023 DA report

The DA report says CMPD Officer Erik Torres found Boston walking on Tuckaseegee Road asked Boston to stop and talk to him. Torres reported seeing Boston pull the gun out, and other officers joined in at the scene, telling Boston to drop his gun.

Part of the report that’s based on body camera video says that Boston pulled his gun up in the direction of the officers while crossing his arms.

Torres was seen backing up while CMPD Officer Richard Meyer pointed his gun at Boston, telling him to put his hands up. The report says that Torres “continued to tell [Boston] to drop the gun, and then fired his weapon.” Torres said Boston was “still pointing” and more gunshots were heard, “along with glass shattering and the hissing of air escaping the tire on Officer Torres’ vehicle,” according to the report.

Boston had fallen to the ground, and officers told him to roll over on his stomach before he was put in custody and taken to a hospital.

The report says that based on the evidence that Boston had just committed an armed robbery, disregarded the officers’ commands to drop the gun, and then brandished the gun at them, the situation would have been justified to use deadly force. The report also says that Torres and Meyer were entitled to use their weapons in self-defense.

According to the report, the CMPD officers fired a total of 13 times. Boston had fired six shots from a Ruger .357 Revolver, and he also had a zipper bag with 18 additional rounds.

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