CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- On the night a 20-year-old Chester man was shot and killed at a high school graduation party, Chesterfield Police received more than 60 calls for service throughout the county during the two-hour window leading up to the shooting.
Those calls for service were reasons why Chesterfield Police did not respond earlier to five calls from neighbors who reported noise violations stemming from the party on Stepney Road.
Dr. William Pelfrey, a criminal justice and homeland security professor at VCU, said Chesterfield Police responded appropriately given the situation at hand.
"After reviewing the timeline provided by the Chesterfield County Police, all five calls for service necessitating police presence represented higher priorities than the calls regarding the party," Pelfrey said. "While a rowdy group of juveniles certainly warrants police attention, such calls rarely result in violence and even more rarely lead to death. The other calls all represented potential violent or deadly threats, or serial offenders."
CBS 6 requested additional information about the five disturbance calls regarding the graduation party and what neighbors reported. Chesterfield Police provided the following breakdown of those calls:
9:38 p.m. – A large number of vehicles swerving in the neighborhood and people being loud at the party
9:44 p.m. – Someone is on top of a vehicle, more vehicles are arriving
10:04 p.m. – This caller shared the same information as previous callers
10:06 p.m. – A large number of juveniles, about 50-100, in the street
10:19 p.m. – About 30 kids outside partying, being loud/yelling, and physically fighting
The call for gunshots came in at 10:21 p.m. and that's when officers dropped other calls to respond.
CBS 6 also asked for an expanded timeline of the five other incidents that took priority over the initial disturbance calls from the party. Chesterfield Police provided an in-depth breakdown:
7:58 p.m. – Suspicious person call entered. The caller reported that unknown suspects were seen pulling on car door handles. Officers ended up apprehending several juveniles, at least one of whom had a firearm, and transporting them to juvenile detention. A total of 16 officers were on this call. (Two of the officers left this call to go to the next call, and others ended up on other calls throughout the evening.) The call cleared at 12:39 a.m. on Saturday, 6/4.
9:19 p.m. – Disturbance call entered. The caller reported a dispute between a group home resident and staff. The issue was resolved with the advice given. A total of four officers were on this call. The call cleared at 9:52 p.m. on 6/3. (Note: Two officers left this call to go to the next call, which was for the suicidal subject; when the other two officers cleared this call, they went to the DUI crash.)
9:38 p.m. – Suicide call entered. The caller reported a suicidal juvenile was threatening to burn the residence and kill himself. A total of three officers were on this call. This call cleared at 12:41 a.m. on 6/4.
9:50 p.m. – Vehicle crash with injuries call entered. The caller reported two vehicles were involved in a head-on crash; one of the drivers ended up being found to be driving under the influence and was arrested. A total of seven officers were on this call. This call cleared at 1:07 a.m. on 6/4.
9:54 p.m. – Abduction call entered. The caller reported an adult female was being held captive at a location. It ended up being a disturbance and cleared up with the advice given. A total of 14 officers were on this call. This call cleared at 10:52 p.m. on 6/3. Most of the officers on this call left when the shooting call came in to respond to that scene.
"As a policing researcher, I do not see a path whereby officers should have responded differently," Pelfrey said. "The number of officers on some calls appears high but this was likely an artifact of the number of suspects involved. The death of a young person is certainly tragic and I hope the perpetrators are properly investigated and adjudicated."
Police identified the shooting victim as 20-year-old Taborri Carter, of Chesterfield County. Carter played basketball at Richmond Christian School. His former coach, Tom Hauser, said Carter loved to smile, make others laugh, and the sport of basketball.
"Taborri’s smile would light up a room as soon as he entered. His smile was contagious and would oftentimes have the class or team in stitches from a one-liner or reaction to someone else’s comment," Hauser said.
Police are still investigating the shooting at the party that killed Carter and injured five other people.
One arrest was announced on Friday, June 10.
The woman who owned the house where the party took place was home, but was not supervising the party. Her grandson was the party's host, police said. While there were people over age 18 at the party, none was supervising the party.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
