Citizen’s death ruled homicide

The autopsy of a man who died several days after being shot by a Memphis police officer shows that the gunshot as well as cocaine use contributed to his death.

The Shelby County Medical Examiner ruled the death of George Golden, 42, a homicide. The autopsy showed that Golden likely suffered an “anoxic brain injury as a result of the gunshot wound.” The official cause of death was listed as “stress of gunshot wound, physical altercation and cocaine intoxication.”

Golden was shot by officer Leon Dickson in the parking lot of the Raleigh Walmart on March 27. He died April 5.

According to police, Golden was shot after an off-duty officer working security saw him shoplifting, then flagged down two on-duty officers. Police said Golden became irate and refused to follow orders, assaulting one of them. That led to a struggle between Golden and the three officers. Police said Golden reached inside his waistband, as if going for a weapon. The officers said they told him to show his hands, but he didn’t. Golden then made a “spin move” toward the officer, police said, leading Dickson to fire one shot.

Police hesitated to include his death in the official tally of citizens killed by officers this year, citing the need for the autopsy results.

With those results, Golden is now one of seven people shot and killed by MPD this year. The most recent incident happened Monday afternoon, when an officer shot and killed Johnny Taylor, 33. According to police, Taylor was firing a weapon and refused to drop it, leading the officer to fire.