Shelby County DA releases files on officer shootings
Earlier this year, D.A. Amy Weirich announced that no criminal charges would be filed against Leon Dickson, the MPD officer who shot and killed Alexio Allen in a Raleigh home on March 23.
Weirich also announced a few days later that no charges would be filed against Marshall Smith, 36, who shot and killed Luis Soto on April 10 at a Shell gas station at 1781 Getwell Road. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation led the inquiry into both shootings.
In each case, Weirich cited state law regarding justifiable use of deadly force by police officers as the reason no charges would be filed.
“This justification is a general defense, which means an officer accused of a crime for using deadly force does not need to prove that he or she was justified in using such force, but rather the prosecution would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that deadly force was not justified,” Weirich wrote in each case. “After a thorough review of this investigative TBI report, I do not believe the prosecution could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that (the officer) acted without lawful justification.”
In the Allen incident, police officers responded after family members called to report that Allen was armed and had been behaving oddly. Dickson said he opened fire after Allen and a woman began struggling for the gun. Dickson said the gun barrel tilted toward him, leading him to open fire from a distance of 3-5 feet. Allen was struck with four bullets; neither Allen nor the other two officers at the scene opened fire.
As the report makes clear, some of Allen’s family disputed the claim that he was pointing the gun towards Dickson. All agreed, however, that there was a struggle over the gun seconds before Dickson fired.
“The law does not require that police officers must wait until they are fired upon before they can lawfully use their weapons. Officer Dickson was in uniform, clearly a police officer and repeatedly told Allen to drop the rifle,” Weirich wrote.
In the Soto case, he had gone to the Shell station to return his 4-year-old daughter to his ex-wife, who was engaged to Smith. Soto brought a pistol tucked into his waistband, the report said, and allegedly told his ex-wife that “he was going to shoot” Smith.
According to testimony from Smith, the ex-wife and others at the scene, Soto handed over his daughter, then pulled up his shirt to reveal the gun. Smith said something to Soto, leading Soto to pull his gun. Smith said he ordered Soto to drop the gun and identified himself as a police officer.
Instead, Smith said, Soto yelled a racial slur and raised the gun toward him. Smith fired four shots, striking Soto three times. Soto did not fire his gun.
“He was gonna kill us. Well, I felt my life was in danger. I felt the baby’s life was in danger. I felt (my fiancee’s) life was in danger. I had to,” Smith said.
View the files in full at scdag.com.