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Law

Police Identify NC Officer Involved In Shooting

Image of police tape
Tony Webster
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Flickr Creative Commons

Authorities in North Carolina have identified the Raleigh police officer who shot and wounded a man on Tuesday.The Raleigh News & Observer reported Friday that the officer is J.E. Byrd. He's been with the department for seven-and-a-half years.

Byrd is assigned to field operations. He has been placed on administrative leave as the State Bureau of Investigation conducts and investigation.

The shooting had sparked protests from hundreds who demanded answers and burned a flag outside the governor's mansion.

Firearms-related charges were later filed against the man who was shot, 26-year-old Javier Torres. Body camera footage released Wednesday afternoon shows him running toward an officer during a foot chase with a black object that police identified as a gun.

Torres ran and was chased by officers who repeatedly ordered him to stop and drop the gun, Deck-Brown said. Torres was shot in the abdomen by an officer who had joined the chase, the chief said, adding that the suspect was running directly toward that officer and would not drop his gun.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.
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