On duty CMPD officer charged in fatal crash pleads not guilty

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Phillip Barker entered a not guilty plea Thursday afternoon after being charged with hitting and killing a pedestrian.

Barker is accused of hitting and killing James Michael Short with his patrol vehicle on Morehead Street in July 2017.

According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, three marked police Charlotte-Mecklenburg police cruisers were responding to a crash where a vehicle had struck a building.

As the three CMPD patrol vehicles were heading to the scene, 28-year-old James Michael Short who was crossing the road at Morehead Street near the intersection of Euclid Avenue was fatally struck. Barker was going around 100 mph in a 35 mph zone at the time of the fatal crash, according to CMPD.

Medic pronounced Short dead on the scene.

Police say initial evidence shows that the officers had their lights and sirens on.

CMPD Chief Kerr Putney announced that investigators had probable cause that a crime was committed and charged Officer Phillip Barker with misdemeanor death by vehicle for hitting and killing a pedestrian.

Chief Kerr Putney said Barker was responding to an emergency with his lights and siren on and had a green light but his speed was “excessive.”

A toxicology report showed that Short. had a blood-alcohol level of .24, three times over the legal driving limit.