CMPD officers won’t be charged in killing of armed Charlotte man at Walmart, DA says
Two Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers won’t face charges in the killing of 33-year-old Derrell Raney near an east Charlotte Walmart last year, District Attorney Spencer B. Merriweather III said Friday.
Officers Micah Edmunds and James Longworth shot and killed Raney on Nov. 5 after a security guard reported the man pointed a gun at him and threatened to shoot other CMPD officers if they responded, the Observer previously reported.
Edmunds fired his weapon six times, and Longworth shot twice, according to the DA Office’s review of the incident. Raney died from six gunshot wounds to the left hand, chest and head, according to his autopsy report. He had nicotine and small amount of methamphetamine in his system, a blood toxicology screening revealed.
Raney’s gun was loaded with 12 live rounds in it at the time of the shooting, the DA’s review determined.
Raney experienced a mental health episode the morning of the shooting, according to the DA’s review. On Nov. 5, he told a CMPD officer he got into an argument with a family member before a tall white man led him into the woods. There, Raney said he found two dead bodies with large satanic symbols hanging above them. Authorities searched the woods but found nothing, the review said. Merriweather said the earlier incident was not relevant to the state of mind of the two CMPD officers later in the day.
A police officer is justified in using deadly force if they believe they are in imminent danger of great bodily harm or death from, according to state law.
The DA’s review said there is not enough evidence to prove to a jury “beyond a reasonable doubt that Officers Edmunds and Longworth did not act in defense of themselves.” Merriweather based his assessment on statements from civilian witnesses, physical evidence, body-worn camera videos and surveillance videos, according to the review.
In February, CMPD released video of the shooting, as a result of a court petition for the footage by WSOC. The footage largely corroborates the DA Office’s review. It shows Raney pulling a gun out of a backpack when the officers told him multiple times to show them his hands.
Raney said “it’s over,” which prompted officers to tell him to drop the gun. When Raney slightly raised the gun in the direction of the officers, they both shot and killed him.
This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 12:56 PM.
