What bodycam video shows when a driver shot a Mecklenburg deputy during a traffic stop
A Mecklenburg County sheriff’s deputy managed to return fire after going to the ground when a driver shot him five times during a traffic stop in February, newly released video shows.
A Superior Court judge on Thursday ordered the release of the body-worn camera and dashcam video to Charlotte Observer news partner WSOC, which petitioned the court to make the raw footage public.
The deputy, Dijon Whyms, was shot on Feb. 19 after stopping a vehicle about 4:15 p.m. on Salome Church Road, off North Tryon Street in northeast Charlotte, the Observer previously reported.
As the deputy approached the vehicle, Aidan Cole Bryant, 23, “fired multiple shots,” striking Whyms, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release at the time. “Deputy Whyms returned fire, injuring the suspect.”
Whyms, 45, was shot twice in the lower body and three times in the upper body, officials said. He underwent successful surgery for non-life-threatening injuries, the Observer previously reported. He was released from the hospital on Feb. 21 and was expected to make a full recovery, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Bryant underwent surgery and was later released from the hospital, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
He was charged with attempted first-degree murder and assault with a firearm on a law enforcement, probation or parole officer, four counts of possession of a stolen firearm and two counts of larceny of a firearm, jail records
The footage released Thursday shows Whyms stopping the car and telling the driver to turn off the engine.
Whyms is shown in the video being shot in front of his patrol car as he approached the driver.
The deputy goes down and fires a few shots, the video shows. On his radio, he calls in, “shots fired.”
The shooter begins to drive away, then stops and steps out of the vehicle and looks at Whyms, who fires again at the man.
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer arrives and applies a tourniquet on Whyms, the video shows.
Sheriff Garry McFadden told WSOC he thought the driver stopped to kill Whyms.
