DOJ deems Milford police shooting justifiable

The Delaware Department of Justice has deemed a January police shooting in Silver Lake Estates in Milford that left a 27-year-old man dead was justifiable.

In a report released Aug. 19, the department determined that Cpl. Nigel Golding and Patrolman Patrick Karpin did not act in a negligent or reckless manner when they shot Brandon Roberts at his apartment on Linstone Lane in Milford.

“Based on the available evidence and the application of expert opinion to that evidence, we have concluded that it was objectively reasonable for Corporal Golding and Patrolman Karpin to believe that the use of deadly force upon Mr. Roberts was immediately necessary for the purpose of protecting themselves,” the department concluded. “For these reasons, the Department of Justice concludes the use of deadly force by Corporal Golding and Patrolman Karpin upon Mr. Roberts does not constitute a criminal offense under the laws of the State of Delaware.”

The department held no opinion on whether Golding and Karpin violated the regulations of the Milford Police Department.

On Jan. 5, Golding and Karpin went to Roberts’ apartment on a domestic call. According to the Department of Justice report, dispatch advised the officers that Roberts was armed with a machete and possibly an AK-47, and was holding his pregnant girlfriend hostage inside. The officers were also advised that Roberts was threatening law enforcement and may have mental health issues. 

As they headed to the apartment, Golding and Karpin drew their service weapons. When they arrived at Roberts’ door, they heard screaming and loud banging inside. Golding knocked on the door and announced that the officers were from Milford police. The door of the apartment opened slightly, and Golding could see Roberts inside, but did not see Roberts’ hands. Golding demanded Roberts show his hands, and reached for the door. 

At that point, according to the Department of Justice report, Roberts exited the apartment with a butcher knife in his right hand. Golding tried to reach for Roberts’ hand, but missed. Golding then asked Roberts to raise his hands. The small confines of the apartment hallway had Golding cornered against a wall. When Roberts continued to advance toward the officers, Golding and Karpin opened fire. According to the report, as he advanced, Roberts told the officers “Shoot me.” Golding and Karpin rendered aid to Roberts, but it was too late to save him. 

The report said that the entire encounter took 10 seconds, and only three seconds from the time Roberts opened the door to when he was shot. The encounter was captured via police body camera footage and was released with the department’s report, along with surveillance footage in Roberts’ apartment building.

The report states that the original 911 call was made by Roberts himself; the night of the incident, Milford police received multiple calls from Roberts’ apartment, but the one that got through had Roberts on the other line saying that there was a domestic dispute at his home. The report said Roberts told the dispatcher, “He has a gun and he’s about to shoot everyone.” Roberts was speaking so fast that the operator could not understand what he was saying. 

Another call came in, with Roberts on the line. The report says Roberts was heard saying,  “I’m holding them hostage, 911.”  When the operator asked for the address, Roberts’ girlfriend could be heard in the background with a crying baby. 

Roberts’ girlfriend then got on the phone, and told the operator, “I can’t use my phone because somebody is here and keeps trying to hit on me, and I’m pregnant, and he won’t let me use my phone.” Roberts’ girlfriend did not give out their apartment number, because, she said, “He keeps trying to go out there with a knife.”  

Roberts could then be heard saying,  “Apartment 5. And any cops that pull up here, I’m killing all ya’ll bitch a** cracker a** mother******.”  When the operator asked if he had any weapons, Roberts said, “Yeah I’ve got a weapon, I got a big a** machete, I got an AK-47, and a bomb strapped to me, I’m part of ISIS, I’m about to blow this whole s*** up.”   

When officers knocked on their door, Roberts’ girlfriend told the operator, “He had a mental disability, so please take it easy on him because he is bipolar, and he is schizophrenic and yes, he does have a mental disability. He has anxiety and he has a lot of other problems that we don’t know yet.” 

Shortly after she said that, gunshots can be heard.

Besides the officers and their superiors, the main witness in the case was Roberts’ girlfriend. In her interview after the shooting, she said Roberts had taken three Xanax and had been drinking. She said Roberts was schizophrenic and had bipolar disorder and was planning to check into Dover Behavioral Health for treatment. She said Roberts “just snapped” and was “having one of his episodes.”

In a second interview the night of the shooting, Roberts’ girlfriend said Roberts had been diagnosed as bipolar, had anxiety and showed signs of post traumatic stress disorder. She said Roberts had a history of using prescription drugs, particularly Xanax, and MDMA, also known as Ecstasy or Molly. She said besides Xanax, she believed Roberts had also taken Molly the night of his death. The domestic dispute arose after Roberts believed his girlfriend was talking to other men. When the police arrived, she said Roberts picked up a knife and headed for the door. She said she told him not to pick up the knife. When Roberts opened the door, she said Roberts did not lift the knife in a manner to threaten the officers and that he did not step outside the apartment when he was shot.

The release of the body camera footage came two months after Roberts’ family members, who have disputed the Milford police’s version of events, held a peaceful protest in June demanding justice for Roberts. At the protest, Roberts’ mother Darlene White said, “My son was 27 years old. I didn’t think I would have to bury my son at 27 years old. His kids can’t see him anymore. The kids won’t have a father because he was taken by police killing him. It’s just senseless. We want justice for Brandon.”

To view the Department of Justice report, visit https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/publictrust/report-of-the-department-of-justice-on-january-5-2020-use-of-force-by-milford-police-department/.