02/04/10 - Dyer County

By: Mallory Cooke
mcooke@wbbjtv.com
5:55 p.m.
 
Gerald Aldridge watched a Dyersburg police officer shoot his cousin, Charles King, 49, around 4:00 p.m. Wednesday.
 
"They said he had a knife. They told him to drop it three times. He did not do it and they shot him," said Aldridge.
 
According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, two officers were serving a warrant after King failed to appear in court. In a press release, Dyersburg Police said Officer David Cecil, 25, pulled the trigger. "From all indication at that time, they had no other choice except to try to stop his actions," said John Mehr, TBI Special Agent in Charge.
 
Aldridge admitted his cousin had a history with drugs like heroine and alcohol. "He was probably drunk. He had just bought a pint, so I guess he was a little tight," said Aldridge.
 
The incident at King's apartment on North St. John Avenue was not his first encounter with the law. King has a criminal history dating back to the late 1980s. Court documents indicate some of those charges include theft, public intoxication and drug possession. King also pled guilty to a second degree murder charge in 1990.
 
Still, Aldridge claimed his cousin was not dangerous. "He would get drunk and threaten the neighbors. That is about it," said Aldridge.
 
Friends believe King planned to turn his life around. "He told me he would turn himself in gracefully," said Mary Ellis, a friend.
 
Aldridge thinks his cousin did not have to die. "They could have shot him in the arm or leg. They did not have to kill him," he said.
 
The family said this is far from over. "We are going to ask that officer why he shot him in the heart, my lawyers will," said Aldridge.
 
Dyersburg Police said the two officers involved in the incident are now on administrative leave.