Carlos Alverto Uribe (Catawba County Sheriff”s Office).
A North Carolina member of law enforcement is facing substantial legal jeopardy over the death of a motorcyclist last month.
Carlos Alverto Uribe, 28, stands accused of one count of murder in the second degree, according to a press release issued by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).
The defendant is currently a member of the Newton Police Department (NPD) – where he serves as a lieutenant but is currently on administrative leave without pay.
Uribe was investigated by the SBI at his own department’s request after shooting and killing Camden Childers, 21, on June 26. The fatal incident occurred as the violent climax of a traffic stop had gone awry following a series of high-speed chases, according to the NPD.
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The SBI’s findings were presented to the Catawba County District Attorney’s Office, which indicted Uribe earlier this week. The police officer turned himself in soon thereafter.
The prosecutor’s office said the review was based on body-worn camera footage, dash camera footage, witness interviews, and other investigative materials. In the end, however, Uribe’s use of force was found not to be legally justified, according to Catawba County District Attorney Scott Reilly.
In a statement perhaps keyed toward anticipating criticism of his decision, the DA also said he had reviewed 15 different incidents where police officers fired their guns over six years in his position and each time found such uses of force to be legally justified.
“However, when the line is crossed – when excessive or unlawful force results in a loss of life – my obligation is to the law and to justice,” Reilly told Charlotte-based NBC affiliate WCNC. “That duty requires accountability, regardless of profession or position.”
On Tuesday, the defendant appeared in court, trading one uniform for another: button-down blues for the jailhouse jumpsuit.
Prosecutors described what occurred the night in question.
Just minutes before midnight, the motorcycle was traveling along U.S. Highway 70 when police aimed to pull the rider over for various violations, including failure to display a registration plate, speeding, and reckless driving.
But Childers did not stop. Efforts to have the man pull over were halted and reconvened – repeatedly.
In sum, three separate chases occurred that night. Then, finally, on a cul-de-sac in Northern Drive NW in Conover, roughly 45 miles northwest of Charlotte, the motorcycle collided with a patrol vehicle.
By that point, prosecutors said, the elusive rider posed little, if any, threat to the officers at the scene, according to a courtroom report by Belmont-based Fox affiliate WJZY.
Police, at the time of the incident, said “a brief physical altercation” occurred during which the man was shot. Then, emergency crews performed life-saving efforts and Childers was taken to a nearby hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.
During the Tuesday hearing, prosecutors said Childers raised his hands in response to the command of an officer who was not Uribe. The defendant then allegedly kicked the victim in the abdomen, knocked him down, and fired a lone bullet into his chest.
All the while, prosecutors allege, Childers’ hands were raised in the air as police had requested – and they were empty.
“That’s what you get for going for an officer’s gun,” Uribe allegedly said at the scene of the shooting.
Again, however, prosecutors disputed the lieutenant’s narrative – saying body-worn camera footage did not support the notion that Childers had reached for anyone’s gun.
“Justice is about fairness, due process and equal application of the law,” Reilly said in an extended statement provided to WJZY. “No one is above the law, and no one is beneath its protection.”
After the hearing, Uribe posted $100,000 bail. The defendant is barred from having any contact with Childers’ family and was forced to surrender his passport as conditions of his bond.
