We don’t normally post press releases at Triad City Beat, but this one is significant and detailed enough that we want to make it accessible to the public in its full, unedited format. The Greensboro Police Department released the following statement at 12:08 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 29. The accompanying photos were taken by Eric Ginsburg about 45 minutes earlier at the scene.
***
Greensboro Officer Hospitalized After Being Struck by Suspect Vehicle
GREENSBORO, NC (Jan. 28, 2016) – A Greensboro police officer is currently receiving medical care at a local hospital for multiple injuries he received when a suspect’s vehicle intentionally hit him earlier this evening.
The incident began shortly after 8 pm today when two officers from the Greensboro Police Department observed a narcotics transaction in the parking lot of KT Express, a convenience store at 3602 E. Wendover Ave.
The officers, who were working off-duty assignments for the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, reported seeing at least two hand-to-hand drug transactions between several people who arrived at the convenience store in three vehicles.
After the transactions were complete, two vehicles exited the parking lot. Two GPD officers in one vehicle attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the third vehicle, an SUV, which remained in the parking lot. Police activated their vehicle’s blue lights and drove towards the SUV. As Officer T.J. Kilmer, the passenger in the police vehicle began to exit, the suspect vehicle accelerated towards him, striking him, pushing him into another vehicle, and then knocking him to ground. Kilmer then fired his weapon several times in an attempt to stop the assault. The rounds did not strike anyone.
Officer M.R. McPhatter, who was driving the police vehicle, along with Kilmer, apprehended the two people in the SUV.
Kilmer was transported to a local hospital where his injuries are being assessed and treated. Medical officials describe his injuries as non-life threatening.
Two nearby GPD officers observed another one of the suspect vehicles involved in the earlier drug transaction in the vicinity of Textile Drive. After police activated their vehicle’s blue lights, the suspect vehicle pulled over and its occupant fled on foot. After a brief foot pursuit, the subject was taken into custody. He received minor injuries.
The suspects in the third vehicle have not yet been found.
In accordance with Greensboro Police Department policy, when an officer discharges his firearm, two separate investigations are conducted. The Professional Standards Division performs an administrative investigation to determine if the officer complied with all policies and training standards. The Criminal Investigations Division conducts a criminal investigation into all aspects of the incident to establish whether or not the officer’s actions were justifiable under state law.
The results of the administrative investigation are reviewed by officer’s chain of command and the chief of police to identify any potential procedural violations and/or training shortfalls.
The findings of the criminal investigation are presented to the District Attorney who reviews the entire case and determines if the officer’s action was justifiable under law or should result in criminal prosecution.
When medically cleared to return to duty, Kilmer, who joined GPD in 2011 and is currently assigned to the Vice/Narcotics Division, will be placed on administrative duties until both investigations are complete.
Because McPhatter was also involved in the critical incident, he also will be placed on administrative duties while the internal investigations are on-going. McPhatter joined GPD in 2007. He is currently assigned to the Patrol Division.
The names of the subjects will be released after they have been formally charged.
Join the First Amendment Society, a membership that goes directly to funding TCB‘s newsroom.
We believe that reporting can save the world.
The TCB First Amendment Society recognizes the vital role of a free, unfettered press with a bundling of local experiences designed to build community, and unique engagements with our newsroom that will help you understand, and shape, local journalism’s critical role in uplifting the people in our cities.
All revenue goes directly into the newsroom as reporters’ salaries and freelance commissions.
Well, keep on GPD editorially to make sure several investigations are initiated to ensure that the officers were not racially profiling. We certainly wouldn’t want the officers to have subconsciously succumbed to “systemic”, “institutional”, “endemic” racial bias for assuming that 3 cars congregating in a parking lot in an East GSO mini mart would be there for any other reason than a impromptu prayer meeting.