CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is standing by its report that the man who was killed by an undercover officer fired first, but a man who was in the victim's car told Channel 9 that's not how it happened.
The incident happened Thursday afternoon on Albemarle Road in east Charlotte.
Jose Silvero said Josue Diaz’s gun was still in the truck when the officer opened fire. Silvero told police that his friend did not have a gun in his hands when he was shot.
[CMPD: Armed driver fired at undercover detective before fatal shooting]
Silvero said he and Diaz had been heading home on Albemarle Road when they sideswiped the detective’s SUV, and that when they saw the SUV following them, Diaz stopped and got out of his truck.
His story and the story police have told about the shooting go in two different directions.
Silverio said Diaz was going back to apologize for the accident, not knowing it was a police officer in the other car.
Police said Thursday that Diaz brought the gun with him as he got out of the car and approached the officer. On Friday, the police department's report added a new detail -- that Diaz fired at the officer before the officer fired back.
Silvero said that is a lie.
Police spent four hours Thursday investigating the shooting scene on Albemarle Road.
They said they have recovered a gun, but have not released any more details about what other evidence they may have collected that would fill in those critical details.
Another friend, Jesus Rodriguez, said Diaz was a construction worker and a father.
“He's never been in no kind of trouble,” Rodriguez said. “Nothing serious, nothing violent.”
But Diaz's Facebook page shows a different side, that of a young man flashing weapons, and one whom was once involved in the Latino gang world.
(Josue Diaz)
In 2006, police reported that he was involved in a gang fight at the old Eastland Mall.
“He was done," Rodriguez said. “He was over that stuff. But that was back in his teenage years. He was over that stuff. He was a committed person to his family. He was a worker."
Family and friends will gather Saturday night to remember Diaz.