Charlotte NC November 17 2019 A 33-year-old man was fatally shot around 2:15 a.m. Friday near the Epicentre in uptown in an incident involving two Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers working off-duty as added security at the entertainment complex.

Treon McCoy died, police said, and another person, who was not identified, was injured by gunfire near South College and East Trade streets, according to CMPD.

Officers Kevin Lovell and Shane Mathews both fired their guns after responding “to an altercation,” CMPD officials Friday afternoon.

“Both officers have been placed on administrative leave which is standard procedure anytime an officer discharges his or her weapon,” according to CMPD’s statement.

Details of what prompted the shooting have not been released. Officials have not said yet how many shots were fired or whether a police officer fired the fatal shot.

The State Bureau of Investigation, which is in charge of the shooting investigation, refused to say how many police officers were involved, whether officers were shot at before the fatal shooting or whether anyone was criminally charged Friday. In refusing to comment, spokeswoman Angie Grube with the SBI said the details remained under investigation.

Public records show McCoy was from Rock Hill.

The shooting happened around the time many late-night businesses in the Epicentre close and pedestrian traffic gets heavier. In addition to CMPD’s regular police patrols in uptown, many officers work approved overtime assignments in the area for added security on busy nights.

Both Lovell and Mathews work in CMPD divisions outside of uptown but were in uniform at the Epicentre for an “off-duty” overtime assignment, which was requested and paid for by an uptown business entity, said Sandy D’Elosua Vastola, CMPD spokeswoman.

Just after the shooting, CMPD officers on scene said they needed help with crowd control around the Epicentre.

“All units respond,” an officer called on his radio. “Call for Medic … I need crowd control.”

Roads in the immediate area were roped off until late morning for the investigation.

Every CMPD shooting involving a police officer is investigated via two separate but parallel processes.

An internal investigation determines whether the officer’s conduct and decision to use deadly force followed department policy. The other is a criminal homicide investigation which, as of Nov. 1, is done by an outside law enforcement agency, the SBI.

There have been three fatal police shootings in Charlotte this year. In all of those cases, the officer’s actions have been ruled legally justified by the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office.

CMPD has faced intense scrutiny over officer use of force since the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in 2016. The killing led to days of protest and calls for reforms. In other cases, community leaders and activists have called for greater focus on de-escalation among officers in Charlotte.

CMPD Chief Kerr Putney has said his officers carry a “guardian mentality with a warrior spirit,” and are often facing split-second decisions where they may have to fire their gun to protect the community. Still, he’s said the department values human life and prioritizes de-escalation.

Just this month, Putney announced changes to the department’s use of force policy, which governs when and how police officers may use their weapons. Putney has said the new policy, now called “Response to Resistance,” puts in writing what the department has long prioritized in its training programs: That officers must attempt to use non-violent de-escalation tactics in an attempt to diffuse potentially dangerous situations in the community.

But, Putney has also emphasized that when CMPD officers are faced with a person armed with a gun it’s a “game-changer.”

The new policy and expectations of de-escalation, Putney said this month, “does not overcome the threat of an armed encounter.”

WSOC reported Friday that the incident occurred when two people came out of the Epicentre and started shooting at each other. The fatal shooting occurred when police tried to intervene, the station said.

The SBI is conducting a CMPD officer involved shooting incident which occurred this morning in the area of S. College and E. Trade Streets. Two subjects were injured during the incident, one fatally.

Friday morning is the second high-profile case of a deadly shooting in uptown in recent weeks.

On Sept. 30, John Holaday, a CEO visiting Charlotte on business, was hit by a stray bullet near the Epicentre as he walked to a meeting. He died five days later. Police charged a 16-year-old with murder and said investigators believe a fight among teens led to the shooting, which took Holaday’s life as an innocent bystander.

The shooting prompted a press conference in which CMPD sought to assure uptown workers and visitors that center city is safe, the Observer reported on Sept. 30.

Putney said: “Center city remains one of the safest areas in the city, consistently, in spite of the huge growth … We swell to well over 100,000 people in center city at any given time.”

Uptown, though, is not immune to an overall uptick in violence in Charlotte this year.

 ‘It could be your child.’ In Charlotte, shootings – some murders – start with petty fights

The most recent data available from CMPD shows violent crime is up about 11% compared to last year city-wide and there have been 95 homicides in 2019 so far, most of them deadly shootings. CMPD’s data also shows the number of arrests and guns taken off the street this year are also up.

The Epicentre on Friday refused to answer questions from the Observer about safety and security on its property. A spokesperson would say only: “We’re unable to comment, because this is an active investigation. We’re cooperating fully with state and local authorities.”

Among the questions the Epicentre refused to answer were about whether security and police presence had increased since Holaday was killed in September and whether Epicentre businesses use pat-downs or metal detectors to detect weapons.

Charlotte Center City Partners said public safety requires ongoing collaboration with CMPD, city of Charlotte, property owners and managers, and corporate security.

“We take Center City safety seriously. We meet regularly with these stakeholders, and have done so recently, to ensure that Center City remains a safe, welcoming and vibrant place for all,” said Michael Smith, president and CEO for Charlotte Center City Partners, which promotes economic and cultural development.

Charlotte Observer 

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