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CHARLOTTE, N.C.—The scene resembled a television police drama—but it was all too real. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers respond to a 911 call of a home break-in, but when they arrive, they find an armed man holding a pregnant woman hostage. The police try talking the man into surrendering, but he keeps his gun pointed at the hostage. The woman fights her way free of his grasp and when she does, the officers stop the gunman with a barrage of gunfire.
Womble Bond Dickinson attorney Scott MacLatchie discussed the incident with WSOC-TV News. Newly released police body camera video shows the Sept. 2017 incident in great detail. After the suspect had been downed, the police officers immediately began applying first aid. The gunman survived and now faces multiple felony charges stemming from the incident.
MacLatchie tells WSOC-TV News that the video shows that the officers employed "good police work" in handling a dangerous situation.
"They didn't go there expecting or wanting to shoot someone," MacLatchie said. "Their only role there was to protect life. They just wanted to stop his threat to her. Once they have effectively done that, they go into the mode of protecting and preserving life."
WSOC-TV News has interviewed MacLatchie numerous times in the past for insights into officer-involved shootings.
MacLatchie has extensive experience defending law enforcement officers in police shooting cases. He also has served as an adjunct faculty member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Southeastern Center for Police Law and Liability Management, with an emphasis on police use of force. In addition, he has a personal background in law enforcement, having served as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department since 1979.
Click here to see "Video shows Charlotte police shoot man holding pregnant woman hostage" with analysis from Womble Bond Dickinson's Scott MacLatchie.
Scott MacLatchie's practice has been primarily devoted to the defense of law enforcement officers and municipalities in police misconduct and related civil rights litigation in both state and federal courts. He has substantial trial experience with successful verdicts in a wide variety of cases including police shootings, deployment of police dogs, use of force (deadly and non-deadly), asset forfeiture and miscellaneous search and seizure matters ranging from false arrest to execution of high-risk search warrants.
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