North Carolina deputies shot and killed an unarmed man Sunday while trying to search a home for an assault suspect who no longer lived there.
Harnett County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the home of John Livingston at 3:30 a.m., demanding to be let inside.
But Livingston, a 33-year-old father of three, insisted on seeing a search warrant.
When they were unable to produce one, Livingston shut the door.
But that prompted deputies to kick in the door, force their way inside and begin beating, tasing and pepper spraying Livingston
Livingston was not fighting back, but at one point, when the deputy had him facedown on the porch outside, tasering him, the man grabbed the taser from the deputy in an attempt to stop the torture, according to his roommate.
According to WNCN:
Carroll says sheriff’s deputies knocked on their door around 3:30 a.m.
Carroll said they were looking for someone that no longer lived there. When deputies asked Livingston if they could search the trailer, Livingston said “not without a search warrant,” according to Carroll.
Livingston then closed the door.
“The cop kicked in the door, got on top of him, started slinging him around beat him…” Carroll said.
Carroll said sheriff’s deputies then started spraying mace on Livingston and using the Taser, according to the roommate.
Witnesses said Livingston was not fighting back and was trying to get the Taser out of the deputy’s hands.
The incident eventually continued outside.
“He (Livingston) barely had the Taser in his hand but he had it where it was constantly going off and the officer I guess that spoke to him rolled over there, says he got the Taser and shot him in this position,” Carroll said while on the deck outside the home demonstrating what happened.
Livingston, who was shot between four to six times, died facedown on the porch.
The deputies who shot him have not been identified.
