Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Deputy Rataba Hawkins shot and killed her husband, Deputy Sheriff James Hawkins on January 15, 2018 in Charlotte, NC. Rataba and her husband James were both deputies with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office at the time of the shooting.
Rataba will not be charged with any crimes the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office announced. The determination was made that Rataba was defending herself from James when she shot him multiple times at the home they shared together.
According to WCCB News Rataba and her husband were having a domestic dispute after both of them had consumed alcoholic beverages on January 15, 2018. During the argument James began throwing things and even picked up a knife. It was then that Rataba shot James in the neck, hand, and stomach with her department issued gun.
The District Attorney’s Office says it cannot be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Rataba did not act in self-defense against her husband.
The home where the incident occurred is equipped with a CPI Security Intouch system, which includes a recorded camera in the doorbell on the front door. The video and audio files recorded by the device may contain evidence relevant to the case.
Investigators seized files, directories, folders, programs, storage sections and other data contained therein. Officials asked CPI Security to lock customer accounts to prevent anything from being deleted.
Rataba has been on paid administrative leave since she killed her husband.
