GASTONIA, N.C. — EDITOR'S NOTE: The above video has graphic footage that some viewers may find hard to watch.
The Gaston County District Attorney's Office released body camera video of an officer-involved shooting at the Gastonia Buffalo Wild Wings last summer.
The video's release came two days after the suspect in the case, James Roberts, entered an Alford Plea and received 30 months of supervised probation for assault with a deadly weapon on a government official.
District Attorney Locke Bell said Officer Maurice Taylor, III, was justified in shooting Roberts.
The confrontation between the two men lasted about a minute, and in the body camera video, Officer Taylor can be heard yelling at Roberts to drop his weapon nearly 30 times.
"Put the gun down," Officer Taylor yelled.
"Or what?!" Roberts responded.
As the incident continued, Roberts yelled at the officer to "Please shoot me!"
At another point, Roberts threatened Officer Taylor.
"I will [expletive] shoot you!" Roberts yelled. "Swear to God, I will [expletive] shoot you!"
Officer Taylor made one final plea before he fired his weapon
"Sir, please don't make me do this," he said.
In the video, Roberts began to raise his gun toward Officer Taylor, who then fired his weapon.
Charles Lifford is a retired Gastonia assistant police chief and an attorney for Bogle & Anthony. WCNC Charlotte asked Lifford to watch the video and provide an analysis.
"Being legally justified doesn't make it really feel better," Lifford said. "But [Officer Taylor] really didn't have a choice, and honestly, I believe he saved lives that day."
He credited Officer Taylor for maintaining his cover while engaging with Roberts.
"[Officer Taylor] kept stepping between, keeping a vehicle between the other person," Lifford said. "He kept giving verbal commands to come into it. He tried to project his urgency to the person to try to get through whatever mental demons he was wrestling with."
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