No charges to be filed in off-duty officer’s 911 call for assistance

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) –  According to the New Hanover County District Attorney’s office, no charges will be filed regarding a Wilmington Police Officer’s call to 911.

In a news release, District Attorney Ben David said his office first became aware of Christian McCarty’s telephone call to 911 through media reports late last week. This call was made in the early morning hours of July 5 and Officer McCarty was off duty at the time of the call.

David said, as a function of the legal obligation to monitor officers for both truthfulness and bias under Giglio v. U.S., his office contacted Wilmington PD to review the results of their
investigation into the facts surrounding Officer McCarty’s encounter with responding officers.

He says his office has reached the following conclusions about that encounter after our review:
1. When the responding officers made contact with Officer McCarty where he had stopped, they observed
no slurred speech, unsteadiness, red eyes, or any other physical indication of impairment.
2. Officer McCarty conversed with them in a normal manner with no confusion.
3. No alcohol was present at the scene in the vehicle or near the car.
4. There was no other indication of impairment during their encounter.
5. In Officer McCarty’s 911 call he did not state that he was “impaired,” only that he was concerned that
he could be.
6. Officers indicated that they would not conduct a field sobriety test on Officer McCarty based on their
observations of him if he were an ordinary citizen.
7. There is no evidence of any impairment that would justify the filing of charges or prosecution of Officer
McCarty for impaired driving.
8. Officer McCarty’s use of the 911 system was proper because he was requesting public safety assistance,
therefore he will not be prosecuted for misuse of 911.
We concur with the following statement by Chief Ralph Evangelous that was delivered to our office today:
“When we first learned of the incident on July 5, we immediately conducted our own
investigation into the alleged improper use of the 911 system. Our investigative team
concluded that there were no criminal charges to pursue. We believe the officer did not use
the best judgment, and he was disciplined for his actions. The police department handled
this matter expeditiously and appropriately. As previously stated, this incident is closed.”

Ben David said, “I would rather drivers pull over and get off the road if they feel they are putting themselves or others in danger, rather than continue driving and not ask for help. We are all made safer when people who do not feel they are able to drive hand over the keys and request assistance. This small decision can prevent tragedies from occurring on our roadways.”

David said Officer McCarty did the right thing but when about it the wrong way. Internal discipline is appropriate but no criminal charges will be filed.