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12:03 p.m. • 5-23-12

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Man shot by Wake County deputy dies


5425 Live Oak Trail
5425 Live Oak Trail
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A 25-year-old man shot by a Wake County deputy at a home off Leesville Road died Saturday afternoon, officials with the Wake County Sheriff's Office said. 

According to radio traffic, Adam Wade Carter was shot twice in the chest.

A woman called 911 around 9:30 a.m. saying that Carter, her nephew, was threatening to commit suicide. She told the dispatcher that he was armed with a knife.

When deputies arrived at the home, at 5425 Live Oak Trail, Carter threatened First Class Deputy Tavares Thompson with the knife, authorities said. 

"When the deputy arrived and went inside the house, the subject did confront our deputy and was shot," said Sheriff Donnie Harrison. "(He) had a knife in his hand."

Carter died Saturday afternoon at WakeMed following the shooting. Thompson was not hurt in the incident.

During the 911 call, the dispatcher spent several minutes speaking with Carter directly, trying to calm him down. He told her he had done terrible things, including cheating on his wife and beating her.

He also spoke about his 10-year-old son, who he wasn't caring for or seeing.

The investigation has been turned over to the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, authorities said. Thompson has been placed on administrative duty, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.

Harrison said deputies responding to potentially dangerous situations have to "do what we have to do, whatever is presented to us."

"We're trained and hopefully that training kicks in," he said. "Our safety is very important. The victim's safety is important, too."

RELATED TOPICS: Wake County, Leesville, State Bureau of Investigation, Wade


45 Comments


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DidIsayThaT....cops deal with the unexpected, but most times, if they are from the area they work in, (which a lot of them arent, for reasons I cannot comprehend) they often know the perps or the area and its not as if they are in a war zone. LEO's are human, and their emotions can and do create problems. Often times, talking with people, showing your human side, showing your are concerned, is a great way to release the tension that may be building up. Likewise, being confrontational, aggressive, and demanding...has less than positive results. This is true with all human beings...LEO's or not.

inforesearcher....people complain about the lack of this and the lack of that...but ask them to pay a few cents more on their property taxes and they go nuts...they cant one without the other...higher taxes are needed to provide adequate services and training. People who dont like paying taxes are also usually the first to complain about the lack quality of said taxed based services.

Just heard on the news that the Wake County cops don’t have any procedures or policies for handling suicidal people so they are clueless as to what to do. No training or anything. Eyewitness testimony says the guy wasn’t threatening as the cops claim. The cops were very wrong on this one. And until they get some training and guidelines, we’ll continue to hear stories about people calling 911 to for help and getting blown away instead.

Again, NEVER dial 911 in these situations unless you can accept the fact that the cops will show up with deadly force, they are untrained, and they might hurt the ones you’re trying to help.

“It is not different if they got a call of a man beating his wife.” – didisaythat

THAT is the problem! One scenario you’re trying to protect an innocent from a criminal attack, and the other is suicide prevention with no other innocents. If a police force doesn’t see these as two different types of scenarios, needing different approaches, we’ll continue to see cops killing suicidal people and thinking it was a positive outcome.

“If the deputy waited for a backup that might not come for 15 minutes and the guy bleeds out from a cut than you would be on this site telling us if the deputy was too scared he should find another line of work.” – didisaythat

I wouldn’t blame a person’s suicide on cops. If you see no difference between someone killing themselves, and the police shooting them, then YES, find another line of work!

Lightfoot, I have been to many calls of a person being suicidal. I have had the luck to not have to shoot someone because they want us to do it instead of them. I can only go on the info I have because i was not there, but becauese they recieved a call that he was suicidal, does not change very much. It is not different if they got a call of a man beating his wife. You still have to go and face the situation. What happens is up to the suspect and what is in his/her mind. If the deputy waited for a backup that might not come for 15 minutes and the guy bleeds out from a cut than you would be on this site telling us if the deputy was too scared he should find another line of work. Darned if we do and darned if we don't.

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