Charlotte officer shot in ambush has a history of confronting city’s criminals

The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police officer wounded during an ambush Thursday night at police headquarters has been identified as Officer Casey Shue.

Shue was hired on July 21, 2014, and is assigned to the North Tryon Division Crime Reduction Unit. She was recognized as officer of the month this past August, for her efforts to keep the Hidden Valley neighborhood safer. That area of northeast Charlotte fought for years to successfully rid itself of a violent street gang known as the Hidden Valley Kings.

When Shue was honored in August, CMPD officials noted she initiated 198 traffic stops, resulting in the seizure of six guns and the arrest of 22 people. Six of those arrested were accused of felonies.

She also led officer initiated activities in the North Tryon Division this past summer, said a police statement.

Shue spoke at the August awards ceremony, and said she was committed to "getting out, talking to people and showing our presence" in the community.

“I love taking bad people off the streets...to make the streets of Charlotte safer,” Shue said in an interview posted on Facebook. “One of the few (ways) you can actually do that immediately is to take people who don't need to be on the streets...To be honest, I have the best job in the world. I get to come to work every day and love what I do.”

She was struck in the leg and hospitalized at Carolinas Medical Center. Police have not released an update on her condition, but the wound was not life threatening.

The shooting occurred at 10:49 p.m. Thursday, in the CMPD Law Enforcement Center parking lot in uptown Charlotte. Murder suspect Jonathan Bennett, 23, is accused of driving into the lot and opening fire on a group of four to six officers who were being briefed on an unrelated case.

Two probation officers and two CMPD police officers returned fire, fatally wounding Bennett. The two CMPD officers were Jeffrey Zederbaum and Jared Decker.

Zederbaum was hired by the department in 2009, and is assigned to the North Tryon Division Crime Reduction Unit. Decker was hired in 2014, and is also assigned to the North Tryon Division Crime Reduction Unit.

As is standard procedure with any officer involved shooting, the Internal Affairs Bureau will conduct a separate but parallel investigation to determine whether CMPD policies and procedures were adhered to during the course of the incident. Per department protocol, the officers involved in this case are on Administrative Leave.

This story was originally published January 12, 2018 at 11:07 AM with the headline "Charlotte officer shot in ambush has a history of confronting city’s criminals."