GREENSBORO, N.C. — A Greensboro police officer's attorney said her client fears for her life, falsely accused of shooting and killing a teenager.
Greensboro Police have not identified the officer who shot and killed a teenager during a traffic stop last weekend but the department said two social media posts identified the wrong officer.
Amiel Rossabi is the attorney for the Greensboro Police Officers Association of which Officer Yurida Ocampo is a member.
"Officer Ocampo was actually a mile and a half from the scene and never got closer. She was blocking traffic, doing her job," Rossabi said.
It's unclear how Ocampo was named as the officer involved in social media posts from Sunrise Movement Greensboro and Working Class & Houseless Organizing Alliance (WHOA).
Greensboro Police said an officer fired when a 17-year-old driver of a stolen car hit a police cruiser and sped off on West Market Street Sunday.
That officer is on administrative leave while the SBI investigates, which is protocol in officer-involved shootings.
The department said it is illegal for them to release the name of the 17-year-old because they are a juvenile.
WFMY News 2 has asked for the name of the officer involved multiple times, GPD said they are not releasing their name at this time.
Wednesday, WHOA and Sunrise Movement Greensboro incorrectly named Ocampo as that officer, prompting Greensboro Police to release a statement.
"Posting false information of this magnitude is irresponsible. It is requested this be corrected and Officer Ocampo's name be removed from posts identifying her as being involved in this incident," the statement said in part.
Rossabi said it's too early to say if legal action will be taken, right now he just wants the groups to admit they were wrong.
"(Ocampo is) understandably not happy," Rossabi said. "She’s concerned about the death threats that have followed these reckless statements by these two organizations. She understands that her job puts her in danger but her job should not be put in danger when people get it totally wrong."
WHOA did update their post to say that Ocampo was not the officer involved. They declined to offer any other comment on Wednesday evening.
Sunrise Movement Greensboro had not changed its statement or taken down the post as of Wednesday night. They have not responded to WFMY News 2's requests for an interview.