SALISBURY, N.C. — Police said a special team was executing a search warrant at a house on East Lafayette two weeks ago when someone fired at officers and Officer Karl Boehm fired back, hitting Ferguson Laurent, 22, who died.
The NAACP asked why those officers weren’t wearing body cameras.
“Body cameras should have been worn in this technical operation,” Salisbury Police Chief Jerry Stokes responded. “Body cameras will be worn in the future during all operations."
NAACP leaders also wanted to know why a rare no-knock warrant was used during the operation.
Stokes said state law allows officers to use the warrant if “the officer has probable cause to believe that giving of notice would endanger the life or safety or any person.”
“The evidence presented to the judge met all of this criteria that giving notice would endanger the officers involved in serving the warrant,” a Salisbury Police Department statement said.
The SBI is now investigating.
Boehm is on administrative leave, which is standard during such investigations.
Officers said he was also investigated after a shooting in 2010.
He was cleared in that case.
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