Vriginian Pilot SUFFOLK, Virginia Two police officers acted reasonably when they fired seven shots at a man armed with a shotgun March 19 and will not be charged, Commonwealth's Attorney C. Phillips Ferguson announced Monday. According to a three-page summary: The officers, identified only as Langston and Babor, heard a gunshot as they responded to a disturbance at the corner of Central Avenue and Pinner Street about 3 p.m. Tedlee Hargrove stood on the second-floor porch of a duplex at 213 Central Ave. with a shotgun. The officers repeatedly demanded that Hargrove drop the gun and raise his hands. When he refused, Langston fired his .40-caliber service weapon five times and Babor fired his twice. Hargrove was struck once in the upper left arm. It is impossible to determine which officer fired the shot that hit him, Ferguson wrote. Hargrove, a 49-year-old out-of-work ship builder, died eight days later at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital from hemorrhagic shock and multiple organ failure. A microphone worn by Babor recorded audio of the shooting, the prosecutor said. Digital video equipment on his police car failed to capture the incident because it was not aimed in that direction. Ferguson said the recordings, as well as many witness accounts, substantiated Langston and Babor's account. A lawyer for the Hargrove family said that not all who saw the events unfold were interviewed. "There are multiple witnesses that will testify and have said that Tedlee was not holding or picking up a gun but was pointing to one of the teenagers that had started the fight," said Adam Lotkin of the Virginia Beach-based law firm Norris, St. Clair and Lotkin. Neighbors said the disturbance involved a rowdy group of teenagers in front of Hargrove's home. Two weeks after the shooting, Suffolk police charged nine people with disorderly conduct, including seven juveniles ages 14 to 17. Two adults also were charged - Ontairio Gates, 19, and Malcolm Riddick, 18, both of Wellons Street. Police say all were involved in the disturbance that ended in Hargrove's shooting. Kristin Davis, (757) 222-5208, kristin.davis@pilotonline.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source URL (retrieved on 05/19/2010 - 14:03): http://hamptonroads.com/2010/05/no-charges-suffolk-police-shooting-left-49yearold-dead
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