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Durham DA clears law enforcement officers in 3 unrelated shootings from January

Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry sent letters last month to her colleagues in the Durham Police Department, Durham Sheriff's Office and the Duke University Police Department, clearing officers in each agency for their roles in incidents in which law enforcement officers shot and killed people in January.

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Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry sent letters last month to her colleagues in the Durham Police Department, Durham Sheriff's Office and the Duke University Police Department, clearing officers in each agency for their roles in incidents in which law enforcement officers shot and killed people in January.

Deberry's office found that Stephanie Wilson, of Bahama, called 911 to draw deputies to her home, then threatened them repeatedly with a shotgun. In her report, Deberry wrote, "She initiated a false emergency call to 911 to induce an armed law enforcement response to her home ... Deputies continuously ordered Wilson to disarm – commands to which she did not respond. When she did respond to commands, Wilson refused to obey and her observed behavior was erratic and unpredictable."

A single deputy fired a single shot that killed Wilson. Deberry's office found insufficient evidence for criminal charges against him.

A second incident started as a suicide attempt but ended with officers shooting to subdue a suspect. Police were called to a Circle K on Jan. 12 where they found Charles Walker Piquet on top of a clerk, wielding a broken bottle. They yelled multiple times for Piquet to get off her. When he failed to do so, officers shot and killed him.

Deberry's office found that a reasonable officer in the same position would have reasonably believed Piquet's actions "constituted an imminent threat of deadly physical force."

The third incident took place in the emergency department of Duke University Medical Center, when an impaired man grabbed the gun of a Durham police officer.

Deberry's office used body camera footage, 911 calls, police records and reports and autopsy findings to determine that a Duke University officer used necessary force to shoot and kill Raishawn Steven Jones as Jones struggled with Officer Christopher Stone of the Durham Police Department.

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