Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Officer Phillip Barker was convicted of misdemeanor death by motor vehicle in the death of 28-year-old James Short in Charlotte, NC. The cop was convicted by a jury on December 14, 2022. Most officers assume that they have the eternal right of way when they have their lights and sirens on, but Officer Phillip found out the hard way that cops can’t do what they want.
James was a CPCC college student, he was hit by a police patrol car driven by Phillip in July 2017. Phillip was driving 100 mph when he hit James on Morehead Street Charlotte, NC. The speed zone was 35 mph.
Phillip was speeding while on his way to a 911 call with his lights and siren on. James was reportedly intoxicated and was wrongly in a marked cross walk. It was night time and the streets were wet around 3:20 a.m.
Phillip was driving to a collision with injuries motor vehicle wreck located at 810 E. Stonewall Street.
Phillip had the right of way, as he had the green light. James walked into the path of Phillips police cruiser and was hit.
The impact caused James to be thrown several feet. The impact also caused the windshield to bust, along with extensive front end damage to the cop car. James died on the scene. Phillip was arrested, charged with involuntary manslaughter and misdemeanor death by vehicle. He was placed on unpaid leave. Phillip entered a plea of not guilty.
The City of Charlotte settled a wrongful death lawsuit with Phillip’s family for $900,000.
Detectives determined that excessive speed was the primary factor in the collision.
At the December 2022 court criminal trial a jury convicted Phillip of misdemeanor death by vehicle. He will likely now be fired from the police department. Officer Phillip was sentenced to 12 months unsupervised probation, his driver’s license will be suspended for 12 months and he must complete 50 hours of community service.
