Charlotte Chief Backs Officers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney on Friday said there were no bullets found in a gun carried by a man who police killed on Sept. 6 at a northeast Charlotte apartment building.

Rueben Galindo, 29, had called 911 and said he had a gun but no bullets. A dispatcher told officers that a Spanish-speaking man had called and wanted officers to help him.

When officers arrived, they ordered him to drop the gun but he did not obey their commands, police said.

Putney said that he would have made the same decision to shoot as officers on the scene, who police have said perceived an imminent threat.

“In the split second, you’ve got to decide am I going to risk my life on the hope that a weapon isn’t loaded? And I’m not going to put myself in that position, nor am I going to require that my officers do so as well,” he said.

The two CMPD officers involved in the shooting, Courtney Suggs and David Guerra, have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.

On his 911 call, Galindo said he had a gun and also repeatedly said he had no bullets.

“I don’t have bullets. I am telling you sincerely and clearly that I don’t have bullets,” he said.

In recordings of police radio released by CMPD, a dispatcher told officers that Galindo didn’t want to put the gun down and that he said it didn’t have bullets. A dispatcher and an interpreter worked together to talk to Galindo, who requested a Spanish speaker.

Galindo’s family has said he was killed unjustly and that he wanted to surrender the weapon to police.

Copyright 2017 The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

Tribune News Service