No charges will be filed against the white Pineville police sergeant who shot and killed Dennis Bodden outside of his apartment. Bodden was unarmed.

Bodden had been accused of shoplifting $84 worth of wine and produce from a south Charlotte Food Lion near where the officer was working off-duty as security. The officer followed Bodden from the Food Lion, used a Taser on him in the median of a road, then fatally shot him after a confrontation that included Bodden biting him on the arm.

In announcing his decision on Tuesday, Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather said the actions of Pineville Police Sgt. Adam Roberts on May 14, 2024, would likely withstand scrutiny from a jury.

"While the circumstances surrounding his death are especially jarring, there is no likelihood that twelve jurors would unanimously agree that the actions of Sgt. Roberts, in firing his gun, constituted a violation of criminal law," Merriweather wrote.

The district attorney, in describing the officer's actions, also wrote that "the appropriateness of Sgt. Roberts’ tactics may be ripe for other authorities to evaluate," but said that such an evaluation was beyond the scope of his review.

In North Carolina, police are legally justified to use deadly force if they have an "objectively reasonable" fear of death or serious injury to themselves or others.

It's the second police shooting involving Roberts, the Pineville police sergeant, who in 2020 was cleared of shooting and injuring a Black man who said he was following police commands to drop his gun on a Pineville sidewalk.

https://www.wfae.org/crime-justice/2024-07-02/no-charges-in-pineville-police-shooting-of-black-man-near-charlotte-food-lion