CMPD called request for fatal police shooting video ‘sensational journalism’
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in court said The Charlotte Observer’s efforts to obtain the police video published in its series on the Sanrico McGill shooting was a “fishing expedition for sensational journalism.”
The newspaper filed its petition after District Attorney Spencer Merriweather revealed in a public report that police shot at McGill 25 times after family told officers he was “not mentally well” and asked them not to shoot. An Observer reporter, in a Sept. 6, 2024, court petition, argued that “public release of video is important for transparency and for the public to have trust in decisions by police and the district attorney.”
Under North Carolina law, only a judge can order release of law-enforcement video. Police chiefs, the public and the press must petition the court for such videos.
CMPD did not initially object to releasing the footage, and a judge ordered the department to turn it over to the Observer. A court docket drama unfolded when police later argued they should be able to release the footage themselves along with a “critical incident briefing” explaining what the new videos showed.
CMPD tried to get the newspaper to agree outside of court to what it called a “simultaneous release.” When the Observer declined, CMPD filed a motion asking the judge to rescind her order.
According to April court documents, CMPD believes the Observer is “not engaging in independent journalism regarding the public transparency of officer-involved shootings.” Rather, police attorney Jessica Battle wrote, “this is a fishing expedition for sensational journalism.”
But Mecklenburg Superior Judge Karen Eady-Williams upheld her initial ruling. Since then, CMPD has declined four interview requests from the Observer regarding the police shooting of McGill.
Videos revealed CMPD told the public they rendered aid after they shot a mentally ill man. They did not. Read the Observer’s three-part series on what could have been a routine mental health check but ended in death and a drone.
This story was originally published November 14, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
