ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — Two families and a police department are grappling with a violent encounter early Saturday morning in Elizabeth City.
Three investigations are in motion after a homicide turned into a police officer shooting and killing another man. Both the police chief and city manager call the shootings a ‘scar’ on the city.
"An officer-involved shooting, as you know, leaves a scar on a department. It’s tough to deal with," said Chief Webster.
It all happened just after 2 a.m. Saturday in a busy portion of the downtown area on North Poindexter Street.
Webster said this is the Elizabeth City Police Department’s first officer-involved shooting in at least 19 years.
"We’re going to be reaching out to the state, the North Carolina Law Enforcement Assistance program to come in and do a department-wide debrief, especially for the officers who were there on scene," said Webster.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation will investigate the shooting involving the officer, the Elizabeth City Police Department will conduct its own internal affairs investigation.
ECPD will also investigate the homicide that set off the chain of events—investigators believe 33-year-old Bryan White shot 39-year-old Cory Revelle.
On Wednesday, April 24, a spokesperson for ECPD said a 17-year-old boy from Perquimans County was injured by gunfire during the incident. Police claim they haven't determined how the teen was shot, but he was treated at the hospital and has since been released.
It's unclear if the teen was injured during the shooting of Revelle or if he was struck when the officer shot White.
However, Chief Webster says looking at crime as a whole in the city, it has been on a downward trend since the beginning of the year.
"I feel like especially our shots fired calls, I feel like they've gone down somewhat over the past few months, due to a lot of efforts we've made," he said.
He said partnerships with the federal government have helped them get roughly 14 of their most prolific offenders behind bars, and 27 weapons taken off the street since the beginning of the year.
"I feel like all those efforts have really calmed things down in the city. But, you know, as you can see right here, you know, it's not a cure all for everything," Webster said.
City Manager Montre Freeman said they’re still waiting on a federal grant to try to do more to avoid incidents like Saturday.
"This scar is forever, and so we're gonna continue to do what we need to do to keep our city safe and take care of our officers and take care of the city," said Freeman.
The officer involved in the shooting is a 16-year veteran of the department. They’ve been placed on administrative duty.
Webster said he wants the investigation to be fair and transparent and wants to release the body camera video if and when he gets permission from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the District Attorney.