Recently released body cam footage shows what appears to be five Greenville Police officers fatally shoot Michael Culbertson July 11. The video shows Culbertson allegedly reach for a gun, leading to an overwhelming response of force.
Michael Culbertson Allegedly Went for Gun
Police didn’t release the amount of rounds fired during the incident. But body cam footage shows it to be a tremendous volley, with more than 20 rounds in total. Police said five of the seven officers on the scene fired at the suspect. Culbertson took several gunshots, leading to his death.
“At this point in the investigation, it has been determined that five out of the seven deputies on scene fired at the suspect,” Captain Tim Brown of the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office told wyff4.com. “The other two deputies did not fire their weapon.”
The most inexplicable bit of information released thus far centers on the suspect’s motive. Police searched for Culbertson over warrants for several traffic violations, including resisting arrest. But police said Culbertson made it known he wouldn’t surrender.
“We had dealt with him before and he’s made a statement before that, you know, ‘I’m not going to jail. You’re gonna have to kill me’ and all kinds of things,” Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis told the Associated Press. However, he said, “I don’t know that he’s ever been found to have a firearm” until Saturday.
So when police found the suspect walking down a road, footage shows Culbertson run, then make a move for a pistol. Footage shows him reach into his waistband, prompting police to fire.
“Deputies observed Culbertson while holding a cellphone in his left hand, retrieve a firearm with his right hand,” Brown said, reported wyff4.com. “When he does so, deputies fire on the suspect, striking him multiple times.”
Police recovered a loaded 9mm handgun at the scene, reported wyff4.com. No officers suffered injury during the incident.
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