No charges against Memphis police officer who fatally shot Terrence Carlton in 2018

No criminal charges will be filed against a Memphis police lieutenant who shot and killed Terrence Carlton last year, according to the Shelby County district attorney’s office.

Carlton, 25, was shot and killed on April 21, 2018, on the 4400 block of Summer Avenue. MPD officers identified Carlton as a suspect in two overnight shootings and a robbery in the Berclair area.

Body camera footage released of the shooting shows that Carlton was not armed at the time.

One year later, Marlene Alexander, Carlton's mother, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against MPD claiming her son was unarmed during the shooting. The suit called for $50 million in compensatory damages and an additional $50 million in punitive damages.

What happened the night of the shooting

Police responded to a shooting at 12:30 a.m. along the 800 block of Berclair Road where an unidentified man was transported to the hospital in non-critical condition after being shot.

A half hour later, a second shooting call came from the 700 block of Berclair Road where another man was transported to the hospital.

Carlton matched the description of a suspect of a robbery after one victim knew him by name and another identified him in a photo spread, according to the Shelby County District Attorney’s office.

Carlton was confronted by MPD while walking on Summer Avenue. Officers said Carlton threatened an officer and “had something dark in his hand.”

Two shots were fired, striking Carlton in the abdomen, according to the district attorney’s office.

“(The officer) was in uniform and in the act of lawfully apprehending a suspect wanted in two nearby shootings that occurred a short time earlier,” District Attorney General Amy Weirich said in a letter to Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings, according to a press release.

“The suspect’s threats and actions gave the lieutenant abundant reason to fear for his life and to act with lethal force in self-defense.”

A cellphone was found by Carlton's body after the shooting. 

After officers canvassed the area, a pistol was located in the 4400 block of Tutwiler. Carlton's DNA was found on the weapon's magazine. A TBI lab examination showed the firearm matched the cartridge casings recovered from the previous overnight shootings, according to Weirich. 

Body camera video shows shooting 

Body camera video released by police shows the shooting. It begins with an officer pursuing Carlton while apparently alone in a police car.

"He's running, 507, he's running," the officer says. He gets out of the car.

Someone shouts something like, "I'll kill you!" Then the officer repeatedly shouts, "Get on the ground! Get on the ground!"

The man's image is blurred in the video. 

Body camera video shows the officer standing over the suspect, who is lying on his side.

The officer shouts shouts for Carlton to lie face down.

Carlton on the ground appears to roll over suddenly toward the officer. The officer fires shots, and the man screams. The shooting happens about 1 minute, 30 seconds into the video.

The officer backs off and says into the radio, "Shots fired! Shots fired!" 

Over the radio, the officer says the man is injured. He holds the man at gunpoint, repeatedly shouting for him to put his hands out to the side. The man doesn't appear to respond.

"Put your hands out to the side so I can get you some help," the officer says at one point.

On the radio, the officer says, "I got him at gunpoint. I just need someone else here with me." 

More officers arrive. The officer with the gun says "Watch his right hand. He rolled over on me and says he was gonna kill me." (That statement from the man isn't audible in the video.)

Four minutes, 36 seconds into the video, the officer calls for an ambulance.

The officer who fired the shots starts putting on medical gloves to render aid.

"He rolled over and told me he was gonna kill me with that phone in his hand. God d---  it," the officer says, while putting on the gloves.  

He bends over Carlton and tries to help. "Stay with me, bud," he says. 

Carlton is unresponsive.

The red lights of an ambulance pull into the picture about 14:33 in the video — about 13 minutes after the shooting.

Contact Breaking News Reporter Phillip Jackson at 901-305-3964, phillip.jackson@commercialappeal.com and follow him on Twitter at @phillej_

Investigative reporter Daniel Connolly welcomes tips and comments from the public. Reach him at 529-5296, daniel.connolly@commercialappeal.com, or on Twitter at @danielconnolly.