Law enforcement have launched three separate investigations into last weekend’s deadly police-involved shooting in which an Elizabeth City police officer shot an armed Perquimans County man who police say had just shot another man.
Police said Saturday, April 20, that an officer with the Elizabeth City Police Department shot 33-year-old Bryan Christopher White of the 800 block of Sandy Cross Road, Belvidere, in the city’s downtown area after White did not comply with the officer’s order to drop his weapon.
Police said their investigation shows White was holding a weapon because he had just shot 39-year-old Cory Christopher Revelle of the 300 block of Davis Ave., Elizabeth City, moments before his encounter with the officer.
Both White and Revelle died later from their gunshot wounds at a local hospital, police said.
City Police Chief Phil Webster, answering questions from area media about both men’s deaths and the officer-involved shooting of White at a press conference at City Hall later on April 20, said three separate investigations of the incident are underway.
“We have the ECPD investigation into a homicide. We have the State Bureau of Investigation investigating the office-involved shooting and the ECPD is conducting our own internal affairs investigation,” Webster said.
The officer who shot White was wearing a body camera that was activated and recording at the time of the shooting incident, according to Webster. City police plan to push for release of footage the camera recorded.
“We’re going to work with SBI and the District Attorney’s office to release body-worn camera video as soon as we can,” he said. “It’s our desire to be as transparent with the public and (with the media) as we can.”
Webster declined to release the name of the officer who shot White, but described him as a 14-year veteran of the city police department.
“We are going to release his name, just not today,” Webster said.
The officer is Black, as were the two men, White and Revelle, who died in the incident, police said.
The officer has been assigned to administrative duties while the multiple investigations are underway, Webster said.
According to Webster, the officer was on foot patrol in the 200 block of North Poindexter Street around 1:57 a.m. when he heard several gunshots. The gunshots came from the vicinity of a privately-owned parking garage and open city parking lot in the 200 block of Poindexter Street, near Elizabeth Street, Webster said.
Webster explained why a police officer happened to be conducting a foot patrol in the downtown at that time of night.
“We have a couple bars located in that area and normally about that time of night officers get out (of their vehicle) and conduct a foot patrol, just to mitigate any incidents, such as what occurred,” he said.
Webster said the number of shots fired by both White and the officer is still under investigation, as are the events that led to the shooting of Revelle. Also under investigation is whether White actually pointed his weapon at the police officer, Webster said.
Asked if the police officer actually witnessed Revelle being shot, Webster said, “He was in close proximity.”
Saturday’s shootings and press conference happened just a day prior to the third anniversary of the April 21, 2021, fatal shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. by three Pasquotank County Sheriff’s deputies attempting to serve warrants at his residence in Elizabeth City.
Asked if he could discuss any similarities or differences between the Brown and White shootings, Webster replied: “I don’t really want to get into that right now. I appreciate the question though.”
Webster said three families were affected by April 20’s deadly shooting incident in the city’s downtown: Revelle’s, White’s and the officer’s.
“On behalf of Elizabeth City Police Department, we express our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Bryan White and Cory Revelle. Three families tragically affected and forever changed,” Webster said. “The family of Cory Revelle. The family of Bryan White and the family of our officer and his extended ECPD family. We pray for those involved and the families.”
Webster talked about the emotional toll an officer-involved shooting has on the officer as well as the department they work for.
“An officer-involved shooting leaves a scar on the department and it’s tough to deal with,” Webster said. “One thing we’re going to be reaching out to is the state of North Carolina Law Enforcement Assistance Program to come in and do a department-wide debrief, especially for the officers who were there on scene.”
Sgt. Eddie Graham said he has been with the city police department for 19 years and this is the first officer-involved shooting in that time. Saturday’s incident marked just the second homicide in the city this year, Graham said.
Police said they are actively investigating Revelle’s and White’s shooting deaths. They urged anyone with additional information to contact the Elizabeth City Police Department at (252) 335-4321, Crime Line at (252) 335-5555, or FUSUS Text-a-Tip at (252) 390-8477.
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