CMPD officers face no charges in fatal shooting of man accused in Food Lion theft
Mecklenburg County’s district attorney has decided two Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers were legally justified in fatally shooting Kevin Eugene Boston last summer after he pointed a gun at the officers who identified him as a suspect in a nearby Food Lion theft.
Boston, 45, exchanged fire with the officers in June, District Attorney Spencer Merriweather on Tuesday confirmed in releasing a 42-page report of his office’s findings. That review included information from interviews with the police officers, an investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation, and a review of body camera footage.
The DA’s report says one of the officers fired first at Boston, conflicting with previous statements from the police department that the officers were returning fire.
Officers Erik Torres and Richard Meyer found Boston on a sidewalk near the Food Lion on Tuckaseegee Road where he’d reportedly flashed his gun at an attendant while leaving the store without paying for his items. Someone at the store called 911 about an armed robbery, CMPD said.
Torres first approached Boston on the sidewalk. Boston had two grocery bags, dropped them, and pulled a gun from around his waistband, Merriweather wrote, based on the investigation.
Torres pointed his gun at Boston while yelling “hands,” according to body cam video described in Merriweather’s report. Meyer told Boston to put his hands up while both officers pointed their guns at him.
Merriweather’s report says Boston refused police commands to drop his weapon, swung his gun as he walked past one of the officers, and raised the gun and pointed it “in the direction of” Meyer and Torres even after he was shot. Earlier in the encounter, according to what Meyer told SBI investigators, Boston had briefly pointed his gun at himself, holding it under his chin.
That prompted Meyer and Torres to take cover behind their patrol cars.
Meyer, who has worked for CMPD since 2005, said he thought Boston was going to shoot himself when he held his gun to his chin, but as Boston lowered the gun, Meyer ran for cover. Body camera footage detailed in Merriweather’s report does not corroborate whether Boston put the gun to his chin but does show him holding it with his arms crossed.
Boston began walking away from the officers with his gun still in his right hand, according to the report. Torres told Boston to drop his gun before shooting toward him, according to body camera footage. Boston raised his gun while Torres continued shooting, the investigation found.
Boston died later at the hospital.
The autopsy report shows Boston died of six gunshot wounds.
Boston’s family called him “KK.” He was a family man, they said. One who cared for his three teenage children as a single father. When he died, they said, police did not notify them of his death. CMPD maintains they notified family the day he died.
Charlotte police shooting
Some details provided by Torres to investigators following the shooting were unclear, the DA’s report shows. For instance, the report states “Officer Torres could not recall whether he or (Boston) shot first, but he heard glass shatter from (Boston’s) gunfire. He could not remember whether he fired before hearing the glass shatter.”
Meyer, who fired two shots at Boston, also said he did not know at the time whether Boston or Torres shot first.
The DA’s report says: “Officer Torres fired additional rounds, and the decedent turned and faced Officers Torres and Meyer and extended his right arm with his gun pointed toward the officers, the video shows.”
Torres, who worked for CMPD since 2017, fired 11 shots, the investigation found.
“He fired his shots in rapid succession; saying he shot two to three times rapidly, reassessed and fired again. He fired 11 total rounds, but he only knew that after doing a round count with the SBI,” according to the DA’s report.
Boston fired a total of six rounds toward the officers, the SBI found.
Meyer shot at Boston twice after gunfire was exchanged between Boston and Torres, according to the findings.
“No available evidence in this case would enable the State to prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Officers Meyer and Torres did not act in defense of themselves or another,” Merriweather wrote.
He said the intent of his review was to examine whether the officers’ actions “were unlawful in the incident leading to the death of Kevin Boston.”
He found the officers were justified, based on the information relayed to them about the robbery; their body-worn camera videos; and physical evidence at the scene. The DA also said he considered the officers’ statements.
“All corroborate that Officers Meyer and Torres were reasonable in their belief that the decedent posed an imminent threat of great bodily harm or death to themselves and the public when they fired their weapons, killing the decedent,” Merriweather wrote.
In officer-involved shooting cases, the DA reviews the complete investigative file of the investigating agency. The DA then decides whether he agrees or disagrees with the charging decision made by the investigating agency.
This story was originally published February 21, 2023 at 3:24 PM.
