WPD: Officer ‘acted reasonably’ when firing shot during domestic disturbance on Christmas Day
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A Wilmington police officer “acted reasonably” when he fired a shot while responding to a domestic disturbance in December, according to authorities.
According to a news release, when officers arrived, they met with the caller, who told them the suspect, Devante Malik Pugh, 23, had choked her, pointed a gun at her, and was now threatening to kill her granddaughter at the house around the corner.
Officers rounded the corner to the 1000 block of Wooster Street, where they found Pugh and the victim standing outside near a vehicle.
Police say they told Pugh to stop, but he reportedly ignored them and went into the house.
When one of the officers followed Pugh, he fired one shot from the doorway, which did not hit Pugh.
“The officer then backed onto the front lawn, where police continued to give the suspect verbal commands. Pugh exited the house and continued to ignore those commands.
Another officer then deployed a taser, which did not affect Pugh, but allowed them to take the suspect into police custody,” Wilmington PD wrote in a release back in December.
On Tuesday, WPD announced the completion of an internal investigation into this incident and found that the “officer involved acted reasonably under the circumstances.”
He will return to duty later this week.
“Law enforcement officers are often required to make split-second decisions under tremendous pressure,” a news release stated. “In this case, the officer was faced with a potentially armed subject who had allegedly assaulted and pointed a gun at someone, as well as threatened to kill her loved one. When the subject repeatedly resisted commands and moved inside the house, the officer needed to act for the safety of those around him and himself. Our agency stands by his actions and those of the other officers on scene.”
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