Investigators release 911 call in Gastonia officer-involved shooting

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — The State Bureau of Investigations is now looking into the shooting death of a Gastonia woman. Authorities said Gastonia Police Officer LaDoniqua Neely shot and killed 43-year-old Betty Sexton at her home on Union Road.

PAST ARTICLE: Woman fatally shot in the chest in officer-involved shooting

A calm-sounding Sexton placed the 911 call at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, but her speech was hard to follow during most of the call.

"I'm having a hard time understanding you," the dispatcher said. "Say that again?"

IMAGES: Scene of officer-involved shooting

"I need people out of my house," the caller said.

"(Do) you need people out of your house?" the dispatcher asked.

Sexton said her boyfriend and his friend were no longer welcome at the house on Union Road. She said wanted police to make the men leave, but she had trouble explaining that.

"I'm having a really hard time understanding you," the dispatcher said. "Sounds like you been sick or something. Is there anyone else I can talk to?"
"One was my boyfriend, but he is not no more," the caller said. "I've been trying to tell him to leave for days."

The dispatcher then wanted to know if there were weapons in the home.

"Are there any weapons involved, mentioned or in the home?" the dispatcher said.

"Uh yeah (inaudible)," the caller said.

"Do what?" the dispatcher asked.

"Knives and everything," the caller said.

Sexton never mentions a gun.

Neely, who has been on the force for three years, and another officer responded, according SBI agents who are now investigating the shooting.

The police officers advised Sexton on what she needed to do to have the others removed and the officers were preparing to leave.

"Ms. Sexton went to a back bedroom," SBI Special Agent Tony Underwood said. "She was in there only a matter of seconds and came out of the bedroom carrying a long gun."

Underwood said Sexton refused to put the gun down.

He said Sexton made no threats and didn't fire the gun.

What happened in those moments is unclear.

"The female officer fired one time from her service weapon," said Underwood. The shot hit Sexton in the chest and killed her.

Authorities do not know why Sexton grabbed the gun.

Agents are waiting on the results from an autopsy performed on Sexton, Underwood said.

They hope that and more interviews with possible witnesses and neighbors will answer their questions.

The SBI said it normally takes anywhere from a couple of weeks to three months to complete an investigation into an officer-involved shooting.

They are still investigating another Gastonia police officer who shot and killed an armed man during a welfare check earlier this month. They will present their findings to Gaston County District Attorney Locke Bell then he will review their report and decide if charges should be filed.

WSOC