A grand jury indicted a former Halifax County sheriff’s deputy after he shot a man last year for making threats to law enforcement officers while he was holding a handgun, according to the sheriff.
Sheriff Tyree Davis wrote a Facebook post about Lt. John Bozard’s indictment. Bozard shot James Melvin Lee Jr. on March 10, 2024, in Scotland Neck.
Other WRAL Top Stories
“I will continue to stand by Lt. Bozard and support him throughout this process,” Davis wrote.
Bozard is charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, according to a spokesperson with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
WRAL News has asked the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation what charge or charges Bozard faces. They have yet to respond as of Friday evening.
Authorities said James Melvin Lee Jr. made threats to the law enforcement officers the night he was shot. At one point, Lee displayed a handgun before police officers and Halifax County deputies.
According to the chief of the Scotland Neck Police Department, law enforcement officers began negotiating with Lee around 2:50 p.m. on the day of the shooting. The police chief said the shooting happened around 5:45 p.m.
Davis wrote that he was, “thankful that no one was more seriously injured or lost their life during this incident.”
According to Davis, law enforcement officers provided lifesaving aid to Lee until emergency medical services arrived. Authorities airlifted Lee to the hospital for treatment and he was later released, according to Davis.
Also, Davis said Bozard has cooperated with the investigation and that, “Bozard determined deadly force was needed to stop the threat to protect other innocent lives.”
“This indictment against Lt. Bozard is unfortunate, but I respect the process of the grand jury and their findings,” Davis wrote.
Davis wrote about the grand jury’s decision to indict Bozard.
“Most grand jury members have never been trained on the use of force continuum nor ever been in a situation where they had to make a decision on whether or not to use deadly force to save lives or stop a deadly threat,” Davis wrote. “Therefore, the grand jury only decides if a crime was probably committed and that a subject probably committed the crime.”
Davis wrote that Bozard had pulled a gun “numerous times throughout his career.”
“Each time before this incident, Lt. Bozard and the other officers were able to deescalate the situations and bring a peaceful ending to each situation without having to fire his weapon,” Davis wrote. “Unfortunately, this incident was not able to be brought to a peaceful ending without using deadly force to stop the threat.
“Lt. Bozard did not create the situation where he had to use force. He was called, along with other SRT members to the city limits of Scotland Neck at the request of the Scotland Neck Police Department because of an armed subject going through a crisis, making threats of violence, in a public place, and not following the commands of the Scotland Neck Police Department.”
Davis wrote that Bozard responded to his training to preserve life.
“Lt. Bozard is not a bad apple or a rogue officer,” Davis wrote.
Davis said Bozard has been in law enforcement for more than 10 years.