Police, DA won’t bring charges in death after fight at Charlotte Transportation Center
Charlotte’s police and district attorney won’t file any charges in the death of a man whose altercation with security guards in December at the Charlotte Transportation Center was caught on camera, police said.
The man, whose identity has not been released by authorities, died after Strategic Security Corp., employees tried to detain him outside of a Burger King inside the transportation center. Charlotte Observer news partner WSOC reported the man’s name was Joshua Overton, 32.
CMPD’s public affairs division said Monday that the department coordinated with the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office on the decision not to bring charges, and that Overton’s death was “justified.” Officials did not explain their reasoning or provide details. Mike Stolp, a spokesman for District Attorney Spencer Merriweather, declined to provide information.
Footage on social media
While police haven’t released what led to the altercation or what they think happened, bystander videos showed part of it.
One video showed a Strategic Security Corp. employee holding the door to the Burger King closed while the man tried to go in, and then smacking his arm repeatedly with a baton after he tapped her arm and pushed her shoulder.
Strategic Security Corp., based out of New York and Matthews, maintains an office inside the transportation center.
Another video showed security employees and bystanders attempting to restrain the man after he began trying to punch and kick people.
Police said the man was unconscious when CMPD officers arrived, and was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital.
Several people at the transit center who said they were present for parts of the altercation said they were upset by what they saw.
Some said the security guards were too rough, while another said the man had been accosting people at the center that day before security stepped in.
