GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Guilford County district attorney justified a shooting that left a man dead in the parking lot of the Greensboro Police Department nearly a year ago.
On Aug. 27, 2021, Greensboro police said Christopher Corey Moore, 41, walked into the parking lot of 100 East Police Plaza around 3:15 p.m. with an accelerant and set a marked patrol car on fire.
Moore then grabbed officer JM Chavez, who was entering the building, and hit him several times in the face and head before grabbing him around the neck.
Two other officers saw the incident and shot Moore to death.
On Wednesday, District Attorney Avery Crump said after reviewing the facts of the case, each of Officers Chavez, Brooks, and Dellinger’s use of deadly force under these circumstances was clearly justified by both the common law principle of self-defense and defense of another and by the statutory provisions of N.C.G.S. 15A-401(d)(2), which permits the use of deadly force by a law enforcement officer to defend himself or another from what he reasonably believes to be the imminent use of deadly force.
The moment Officer Chavez was subject to an unprovoked physical assault that took him to the ground in a struggle for his gun made each officer entirely justifiable as they attempted to end a real immediate deadly confrontation.
According to court documents, this is not the first time Moore assaulted an officer. Back in 2015, police arrested Moore and charged him with assault. The Clerk of Court's office said it was also a Greensboro Police Officer.
Court records show Moore was sentenced to two years of supervised probation. The judge also ordered that Moore seek counseling or mental services, but the Clerk of Court's office could not confirm if he did or didn't do so.
