Authorities in Gaston County cleared an officer of wrongdoing when they issued a ruling on Friday. The New Year’s Eve incident in which a police officer’s gun discharged and injured the office and a detainee was deemed an accident.
Shortly after 6:00 on the evening of New Year’s Eve, officers with the Belmont Police Department were dispatched to a road rage report that possibly involved gunshots.
Andrea Verner and Brandon Watts, the two subjects of the police call, were found by police on Lake Pointe Drive. After receiving information that one of the people involved may be armed, both Watts and Verner were held by police. As officers were questioning the pair in the garage, Melissa Varner entered the area and did not obey the officers’ commands as they tried to detain her.
As Melissa resisted and fought with police, one of the officer’s guns fired by accident. The discharged round hit concrete and left both the officer and Melissa Varner with shrapnel wounds to the legs, which were immediately treated with first aid. As of yet, no charges have been filed and the involved officer’s name has not been released.
