Patrick Earl Gatson

The Washington Post's Fatal Force database records Patrick Earl Gatson in a fatal on-duty police shooting on 2017-03-16 in Fayetteville, NC. Individual circumstances and legal outcome require case-specific review.

What happened

Patrick Earl Gatson, 32, was shot and killed by Fayetteville, North Carolina police on March 16, 2017, after an approximately eight-hour standoff at a Sycamore Court apartment complex. Officers arrived in the morning to arrest him on warrants for alleged robbery and possession of stolen property. Gatson refused to come out and moved through attic spaces connecting several apartments, according to Police Chief Anthony Kelly. Police used a robot, a smoke device, and crisis negotiators; officers also contacted his mother and sister to encourage a peaceful surrender. The chief said tactical officers eventually dismantled part of the attic to enter, found Gatson concealed in a closet with a rifle, magazine and scope, and shot him during the confrontation. He was transported to a hospital and died. The precise immediate threat was described by police, rather than independently established by the article. Gatson had not been convicted of the alleged offenses named in the warrants, and a final criminal review was not documented in the contemporaneous report.

Investigation & findings

Individual legal and investigative outcome not yet reviewed.

What happened

Investigation & findings

Sources & records