CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An officer with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department will not face charges after a deadly shooting that unfolded near Uptown in October 2023.
On Tuesday, the Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Office announced it concluded that Ofc. Braylin Brown perceived a genuine threat when he shot and killed 44-year-old Nickolas Demar Lopez along Frazier Avenue near West Trade Street on Oct. 4. CMPD said at the time the original call was for someone firing a gun into the air.
A news release shared by the District Attorney's Office included screenshots from Brown's body-worn camera, which showed that while Lopez did initially raise empty hands that night, he eventually reached into a cross-body bag and fell with a handgun pointed at Brown.
The DA's office said Lopez then rolled on the ground, regained his footing, and held the handgun in his left hand while looking at Brown. However, Lopez ran away again and the gun swung backward in Brown's direction.
An interview Brown had with agents from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation was detailed in the DA's office news release. In the interview, Brown said he repeatedly told Lopez to drop the gun before finally shooting three times, when Lopez was regaining his footing and still armed.
The DA's office ultimately found that Brown was justified in his use of deadly force, leading to him not facing charges.
Brown was identified by CMPD more than a week after the shooting and put on paid administrative leave as the investigation by the NCSBI went on. The department said this was standard procedure for any officer who fires their service weapon.
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