For two decades, Dennis Alexander Bodden worked as an attorney helping people with mental health issues in New York City before obtaining an additional master’s degree in social work to continue helping people with mental health needs.
But nobody was there to help the unarmed 46-year-old Black man when he was suffering a mental episode.
Instead, he was shot and killed by a North Carolina police officer on May 14 after he had walked out of a Food Giant supermarket in Pineville without paying for produce and a bottle of wine, according to the Charlotte Observer. Store management said Bodden was a frequent shoplifter, brazenly picking up items and walking out of the store without paying for them.
Bodden’s mother, Cleopatra Bodden, said her son suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and believed he was taking food from home. She told local media that his conditions worsened during the pandemic as it did for many people during that period, which was when he moved from New York City to his hometown in Pineville.
Body camera footage released last week shows that Bodden gave no indication that he was aware he had broken any law when confronted by Pineville Police Sgt. Adam Roberts because he just continued to walk away as the cop ordered him to the ground. Bodden was wearing headphones, so perhaps he did not hear the officer but let out a startled yell when the cop tried to grab him from behind.
Although there does not appear to have been physical contact during that exchange, Roberts told the dispatcher that Bodden “has already tried to push off on me,”
At one point, Bodden appears to be stepping into traffic when the cop pulls him back which should have been another sign Bodden was probably not in the right frame of mind.
The cop then wrestles Bodden to the ground in a grassy median in the middle of a busy street and screams out in pain after Bodden allegedly bit him.
The cop then fires his Taser gun at him several times, but Bodden stands up and continues walking, the Taser prongs appearing to have been blocked by his yellow raincoat.
Bodden continues talking towards the direction of an apartment complex where he apparently lived which is when several other officers arrive on the scene to help Roberts detain Bodden.
But it appears as if Bodden panicked with the arrival of the cops because he then charged one cop before turning around and charging Roberts, who fired three times, appearing to strike him in the abdomen.
But even then, Bodden continued walking from the parking lot to a grassy area, where he fell on the grass face forward. The cops then place handcuffs on him as he can be heard gasping for his final breaths.
“We got him,” said one cop as he is handcuffing Bodden. “Good guys always win.”
Below is the video edited down to two minutes, but here is the full 15-minute video.
Cleared of Wrongdoing
Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather chose not to charge Roberts with a crime on the basis that “there is no likelihood that twelve jurors would unanimously agree that the actions of Sergeant Roberts in firing his gun, constituted a violation of criminal law.”
But the judge also acknowledged Bodden’s extensive education as well as his deteriorating mental health, which the judge believes led to the fatal shooting for Bodden.
The judge also pointed out how Roberts accused Bodden of assaulting him when the video evidence did not show that. Read the full letter here.
Based upon the information provided to my office, Dennis Bodden was a graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in biochemistry and a graduate of the Cardozo School of Law. Tragically, Mr. Bodden’s mental health reportedly began to deteriorate during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that condition may very well have contributed to the events that ultimately led to his death. While the circumstances surrounding his death are especially jarring, there is no likelihood that twelve jurors would unanimously agree that the actions of Sergeant Roberts, in firing his gun, constituted a violation of criminal law. Therefore, I concur with your agency’s decision not to seek criminal charges against Sergeant Adam Roberts. While the appropriateness of Sergeant Roberts’ tactics may be ripe for other authorities to evaluate, such questions exceed the purview of the District Attorney, as a matter of criminal law, and are beyond the scope of this consultation.
The body-worn camera shows that Sergeant Roberts drew his Taser and instructed the decedent to get on the ground. The decedent began walking away as Sergeant Roberts repeatedly told him to “get on the ground.” Sergeant Roberts then informed dispatch that the decedent “has already tried to push off on me,” although the bodyworn camera video shows no substantial contact between the decedent and Sergeant Roberts up to this point.”
In 2022, Roberts was cleared in another shooting of an armed man who survived.
Bodden’s LinkedIn page indicates he worked for Mental Hygiene Legal Service in New York from 2015 to 2019, where he advocated and litigated on behalf of individuals with disabilities receiving benefits.
Police told local media they had no idea he was mentally ill, but Bodden’s mother doesn’t buy that argument.
“If you tell someone to stop … and they’re not reacting, you should know that there is something else going on — that that person is not stable,” she said. “And they didn’t take that into consideration.”
