See related editorial 6A
Community members gathered Monday evening outside the Sampson County Department of Social Services to call for transparency and answers in the ongoing investigation into the June 12 officer-involved shooting death of Shawn West Jr.
The July 13 gathering, organized by the Living With A Purpose Organization, brought together residents who shared concerns about the investigation and discussed the impact the case has had on the community. Afterward, attendees moved to the Sampson County Board of Commissioners’ meeting, where organizer George Barksdale Jr. addressed the board during the public comment portion of its monthly meeting.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation continues to investigate the shooting, which involved Sampson County Sheriff’s deputies.
Speaking before commissioners, Barksdale asked county leaders to consider the perspective of West’s family as they continue waiting for answers.
“How would you feel if you got a call early in the morning saying your child had been killed?” Barksdale asked. “How would you feel hearing that and finding out your child was killed by the people who have taken an oath to protect you?”
He inquired about policies and training for officers.
“What kind of training is in place for officers to deal with mental health patients?” he asked. Barksdale urged anyone who has a family member who suffers with mental health to become more familiar with 988 rather than 911 — 988 is a suicide and crisis lifeline put in place by the NC Department of Health and Human Services.
Barksdale also questioned why body-worn camera footage has not been released and urged county leaders to do what they could to help the family obtain answers as the investigation continues.
“If this was your child, wouldn’t you be seeking justice?” he asked.
As has been their policy, commissioners did not respond to Barksdale’s remarks during the meeting. Commissioners normally do not respond to members of the public who address them during the public comment section of the agenda.
While Barksdale was the only person to address the board, many of those gathered beforehand expressed concern over the pace of the investigation and the lack of publicly available information surrounding the case.
Among those in attendance was Sampson County NAACP President Larry Sutton, who said the purpose of the gathering was to raise awareness while emphasizing the need for a complete and transparent investigation.
“The purpose is to make sure the community is aware of what’s going on and to make sure that we demand transparency and that a full investigation will take place,” Sutton said.
He encouraged residents to allow investigators to complete their work before drawing conclusions.
“No one, until we know the facts, should be jumping to any conclusions,” Sutton stressed. “Let the facts come out. Let’s not leave anything uncovered.”
Sutton added that, once the investigation reaches the appropriate stage, the public should have access to whatever information is legally available.
“We need to make sure all the facts are being released and that we have a chance as the public to request or have access to what the public is allowed to have access to,” he said.
L.J. Barden Jr., who said he became close friends with West while the two worked together at a local cabinet factory, also attended the gathering.
“Shawn was an amazing dude,” Barden recalled. “You didn’t have to know him long to get to know him. He’d try to get to know you before you tried to get to know him.”
Barden described West as someone who cared about others and rarely complained.
“Shawn wouldn’t hurt nobody,” he said. “He just needed somebody to listen to him.”
Fighting back emotion, Barden questioned whether the encounter could have ended differently.
“The only thing they had to do was talk to Shawn,” he said. “Shawn was my friend, and they took my friend away from me.”
On Tuesday morning, NCSBI Public Information Director Chad Flowers said there were no new developments in the case.
“Nothing new to report,” Flowers wrote in an email. “We are still working on this case, and it has not been turned over to the DA (District Attorney) yet.”
Once the SBI completes its investigation, its findings will be forwarded to the district attorney, who will determine whether any further action is warranted. Body-worn camera footage associated with officer-involved investigations is not automatically released under North Carolina law and generally requires a court order before it can be made public.
Those gathered Monday said they intend to continue advocating for transparency while allowing the investigative process to run its course.