Video: Charlotte man killed after Food Lion robbery held gun while walking from officers

Police body-camera video footage released Tuesday shows a Charlotte man — shot and killed by police last year after robbing a grocery store — was walking away from officers while holding a gun. Just moments before, video shows, he’d grabbed the gun from his waist or pocket as officers approached him on a sidewalk.

The footage aligns with what the District Attorney found in reviewing the deadly shooting case and contradicts a part of what Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officials said after the shooting.

CMPD previously said officers fired at Kevin Eugene Boston after he first shot at them. The DA found the officers fired first and decided they would not be criminally charged in the shooting. Multiple commands for Boston to drop his weapon were ignored, video shows.

On Tuesday, CMPD acknowledged the discrepancy saying in a news statement: “The initial information released by CMPD following the incident stated that the suspect fired upon officers first, after which officers returned fire. At the conclusion of the investigation, CMPD cannot definitively state that the suspect fired first. However, this does not change the fact that officers perceived an imminent lethal threat and acted appropriately to defend their lives and the lives of others in the area.”

Kevin Boston shot, killed by police

According to an investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation, Officer Erik Torres fired 11 shots at Boston, and Officer Richard Meyer fired two shots, officials have said. Neither officer remembered whether Torres or Boston shot first, they told investigators later, according to the DA’s report.

The DA and police investigation, which included review of video footage and other evidence, showed Boston did point and later fired his gun at police. The DA concluded he was returning fire.

Boston had reportedly flashed his handgun while leaving without paying for a “whole shopping cart load” of Food Lion groceries June 26, according to a newly released 911 call.

Torres and Meyer found Boston walking a sidewalk near the store’s Tuckaseegee Road location. He was carrying two reusable bags filled with groceries when Torres approached him.

Body-cam footage shows Boston quickly reached for his front right pocket, where the 911 caller and employee said he put his gun. Torres immediately pulled his gun and ran for coverage behind a CMPD police car, video shows.

Boston reached for his gun within 3 seconds of Torres approaching him, saying: “Hey, boss, you mind if I talk to you for a second?”

Body-camera footage shows Torres drew his own gun and quickly put distance between himself and Boston on the sidewalk while turning to point the gun toward Boston. Meyer, the other officer, also drew his weapon and pointed it toward Boston, who was holding a gun in his right hand and beginning to walk away, video shows.

Meyer and Torres took cover behind their patrol cars and continued to shout at Boston to drop the weapon — but he slowly continues walking away, as seen in the body-cam videos.

The patrol car separated Torres from Boston as he walked along the sidewalk toward a group of officers waiting down the road. Because Boston was still holding the gun and not following commands, he was considered an “imminent threat,” said Sgt. Steven Winterhalter in a video statement released by CMPD on Tuesday. Winterhalter is CMPD’s firearms training unit supervisor.

As Boston walked past officers, he briefly turned his head toward Torres, while still holding the gun. In that moment, Torres fired. That was less than 30 seconds from the time officers arrived.

Torres fired several rounds at Boston while repeatedly telling him to drop his gun.

Even after being shot at (it’s unclear if he’d been struck at that point), Boston continued walking away. Once further away on the sidewalk, video shows, he turned around and pointed his gun in the direction of the officers.

Both Meyer and Torres began shooting at him and Boston fell to the ground. It’s unclear if Boston fired at officers before falling to the ground, but the investigation showed he did fire back.

“Just because an individual is lying on the ground does not mean that they cannot fire the weapon, which [Boston] does in fact do,” said Winterhalter.

Boston later died of six gunshot wounds, according to his autopsy report.

Boston, 45, was a single father of three children, ages 13, 14 and 18.

Mario Black, his cousin, and Billie Black, Boston’s sister-in-law, say he was a family man. The two spoke to the media after the shooting and advocated for an investigation into what led up to the incident, how it could have been handled, and the release of the body camera footage.

Boston struggled with mental health issues and has had interactions with CMPD in the past, his family said.

So far his family has not responded to additional requests for comment on CMPD’s decision not to discipline the officers involved.