Charlotte Police Release Radio Call From HQ Ambush

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Charlotte police released radio traffic Friday from a Jan. 11 shooting in the parking lot of police headquarters in uptown Charlotte that left one officer shot and a murder suspect dead.

The incident has triggered an internal investigation, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Shots rang out in the parking lot of the CMPD facility located at 601 E. Trade Street shortly before 11 p.m. last Thursday night when murder suspect Jonathan Bennett, 23, opened fire as several officers, along with members of the North Carolina Probation and Parole, stood outside the police station during a briefing. Earlier that day, Bennett had been identified as the primary suspect in a domestic homicide that left the mother of his infant child dead in a west Charlotte home.

Bennett was shot as officers returned fire, and was later pronounced dead at an area hospital. CMPD officer Casey Shue was shot in the leg during the incident, and was taken to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

"He ambushed us," CMPD Police Chief Kerr Putney said, The Charlotte Observer reported. One officer was shot by the suspect in the leg and Bennett was killed as officers returned fire.

The radio recordings released Jan. 19 between officers on the ground and police dispatch give shading to the incident as officers made calls for help with sirens blaring in the background. The three dispatch recordings can be heard here, here and here.

According to a police statement, two CMPD officers and two probation officers shot back at Bennett, wounding him in the exchange. He was transported by paramedics to Carolinas Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. CMPD later identified the officer shot in the exchange as Casey Shue, and said she was taken to the hospital with a non-life threatening gunshot wound to the leg.

The two CMPD officers involved in the shooting have been identified as Jeffrey Zederbaum and Jared Decker, who are nine and three-year veterans of the department respectively. The two have been placed on administrative leave as standard procedure while CMPD internal affairs conducts an investigation to into whether or not CMPD policies and procedures were followed during the shooting, CMPD said.

Shue, who was hired by CMPD in July 2014, was recently commended by the department for her work in the North Tryon Division Crime Reduction Unit. "Officer Shue was recognized as officer of the month this past August for her outstanding work in keeping Hidden Valley neighborhood members safer," and has been responsible for removing 6 guns from the neighborhood and 21 arrests, CMPD said.

Earlier on Jan. 11, Bennett was the center of a manhunt after the mother of his child was found dead and their nearly three-month old baby missing. His photo, along with a photo of the New York tag on his white Ford Expedition were widely circulated, and police warned the public he was considered armed and dangerous.

Police found Brittany White, 24, slain in a home in the 4100 block of Carlyle Drive around 1:45 p.m. Jan. 11. She was pronounced dead on the scene my paramedics.Bennett is the father of the victim's baby, Journei Bennett, who was initially reported taken from the home by the suspect after the shooting. An Amber Alert was issued for the infant late Thursday afternoon, and less than two hours later, CMPD report the baby had been located safe and unharmed. A second child was located at the scene unharmed.

Photo of Jonathan Bennett courtesy of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department