CONCORD, N.C. — Concord police said they fired an officer who shot and killed a man at a car dealership in February. Now, the man’s mother is making some strong demands.
Virginia Tayara wants police body camera video released and she wants the officer involved to be charged.
Investigators said an officer found Brandon Combs trying to steal a car at the Nissan dealership along Concord Parkway in February. Authorities said the officer and Combs got into a fight before the shooting.
On Tuesday, attorneys for Combs’ mother, Virginia Tayara, said they were in “utter disbelief” when they watched the body camera video of the February shooting last week.
But Tayara’s attorneys say the footage shows that no altercation occurred. They said the officers shot Combs five times, called dispatch and then shot him again.
“(The officer) murdered him. He shot him in cold blood. I just want the officer held accountable and I want the city of Concord to make some changes to the way they do business,” Tayara said.
At the time, police told Channel 9 that the officer was placed on administrative duty while the SBI and the Cabarrus County District Attorney’s Office investigated.
On Tuesday, Concord police said the officer involved, Timothy Larson, was terminated and no longer works for the department. Concord police cited “violation of company policies or procedures.” According to Larson’s notice of dismissal, Larson made untruthful statements during his interview with the SBI.
The department also said they continue to cooperate with the SBI and the district attorney’s office and the attorney’s in the case.
Civil rights attorney Harry Daniels told The Charlotte Observer that it was one of the worst police-shooting videos he has ever seen, and that Combs’ death hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves because police presented the shooting as an “open-and-shut case.”
“We didn’t know anything until we saw (the video). We watched it in utter disbelief,” Daniels said. “The most disturbing thing is not the unjustified use of deadly force, but that (Larson) paused and then used deadly force again. The first five shots were bad enough. The last shot was overkill, man. It was overkill. I can’t make sense of it.”
Concord police released his disciplinary record Tuesday. Prior to the shooting, the only blemish on Larson’s record was a preventable crash in December of 2021. He was given a warning.
But the discipline report dated Feb. 13 said that after the shooting, Larson declined to answer all 57 prepared questions given to him.
Larson was warned that refusing to answer each question was a separate count of insubordination.
He was fired in May.
Attorneys accused the district attorney of dragging her feet on potential charges.
“If she’s tough on crime, a criminal act has taken place, and she needs to lock Officer Larson up today,” Daniels said.
Attorneys said the SBI finished their investigation and handed it over to the DA to decide if charges will be filed.
Channel 9 is also petitioning the court to get a copy of the body camera video, because state law doesn’t allow for police departments to release video otherwise.
Full statement from the Concord Police Department:
“At the Concord Police Department, it is our top priority to protect the rights, health and safety of all members of the community and we make it our mission to embrace transparency and accountability. We voluntarily choose to involve the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) following any officer involved shooting in order to ensure an impartial investigation. We continue to cooperate with the SBI, the District Attorney’s Office, and the Combs’ family attorneys. We understand how difficult this time is for the Combs family and we want to ensure they receive the answers they need to heal following the death of their loved one. Which is why to preserve the integrity of the independent review by the SBI and the Cabarrus County District Attorney’s Office, as stated in the factual media release from February 13, we will not be commenting further on the case until the District Attorney’s Office completes their review.”
Return to this story for updates.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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