There was another police shooting in Greensboro. Here’s what we do and don’t know.

by Sayaka Matsuoka

On Friday, June 30, news outlets around Greensboro got a press release announcing that another police shooting had occurred in the city. This marks the second time in less than two weeks in which law enforcement has shot and killed a person in Greensboro.

The first took place on June 22 in which police shot and killed Graham Thomas Roberson, a 51-year-old white man who was walking on Tuscaloosa Street after they said Roberson “displayed” a firearm. Further questions revealed that Roberson never pointed or fired the gun he had at police. This time, the release was longer.

According to the police press release, police officers were dispatched near Randleman Road around 9:40 p.m. after calls came in about gunfire. Upon arriving to the scene police realized that the sounds were actually fireworks. However, about 15 minutes later, they encountered a person who they say was wielding a knife and a machete. According to the press release, there was a foot pursuit and officers attempted to use a Taser and pepper spray to subdue the person who ran to a nearby gas station. Once there, police said the person turned towards the officers and” began advancing towards officers with the knives.” Three officers then shot and killed the person.

As with the last shooting, many questions remain.

Why not use a Taser or pepper spray when the person was closer? Why not shoot the person in the leg? Why were there three officers shooting? Why wasn’t the city’s behavioral co-response team dispatched alongside police?

The press release (if we are to believe everything it says on its face) states that police used less than lethal force during the chase. But what about when the person was closer?

The circumstances sound harrowingly like the Chieu Di Thi Vo case While many may not remember Vo’s name, the case took place less than a decade ago.

In that instance, Greensboro resident and Vietnamese immigrant Chieu Di Thi Vo was shot and killed by Greensboro Police Officer Timothy Bloch. At the time, the police department, which was led by Chief Wayne Scott, and the District Attorney’s office found that the shooting was justified. Since then, Bloch has put out a book and has maintained that he acted justifiably in shooting and killing Vo.

As for the June 30 shooting, more reporting is clearly needed. Body-camera footage, like in the case of Vo, will only be revealed if the police department, city council or members of the public petition the courts to have it released, or if members of the deceased’s family request to see it.

So far, the name of the person killed has yet to be released.