Concord Police fires officer that shot and killed burglary suspect in February

CONCORD, N.C. (WBTV) - A Concord Police Department officer has been fired just months after he shot and killed a man attempting to rob a car dealership in February.

According to a disciplinary report provided by the Concord PD, officer Timothy Larson was fired for ‘violation of company policies or procedures.’

On Feb. 13, 2022, Larson shot and killed Brandon Combs, who police say was attempting to steal a car the Modern Nissan on Concord Parkway S.

In the report, Chief of Police Gary Gacek says Larson was interviewed by the Concord PD on April 11 and made ‘untruthful’ statements about the incident and his February interview with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

According to the report, Larson declined 57 prepared questions presented during the administrative interview

On May 18, Larson received another meeting with human resources and failed again to provide truthful information. On May 20, Larson was dismissed by the Concord PD.

“Your continuous refusal to answer the questions that have been presented to you, despite serval opportunities to do so, are detrimental to the continuity of operations of the City of Concord and the Concord Police Department,” Gacek wrote.

Larson will have the right to appeal the discipline in accordance with the grievance policy set.

At the time of the shooting in February, police said Larson told Combs multiple times to stop and officers say he refused, leading to a physical confrontation between the two. Larson then fired his handgun at Combs, who later died from his injuries.

Combs’ mother, Virginia Tayara, demanded Tuesday during a press conference with her attorneys that video of the shooting is released. Her attorneys say Combs was actually attempting to flee and posed no immediate threat when he was shot five times and killed.

“They took my son...he murdered him and shot him in cold blood,” Tayara said. “And I just want, I just want the officer held accountably and I want the City of Concord to change the way they do police business.”

The family is now asking the district attorney to charge the officer with Comb’s death

The following statement was provided by the Concord PD:

“At the Concord Police Department, it is our top priority to protect the rights, health and safety of all members of the community and we make it our mission to embrace transparency and accountability,” the PD said in a statement. “We voluntarily choose to involve the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) following any officer-involved shooting in order to ensure an impartial investigation. We continue to cooperate with the SBI, the District Attorney’s Office, and the Combs’ family attorneys. We understand how difficult this time is for the Combs family and we want to ensure they receive the answers they need to heal following the death of their loved one. Which is why to preserve the integrity of the independent review by the SBI and the Cabarrus County District Attorney’s Office, as stated in the factual media release from February 13, we will not be commenting further on the case until the District Attorney’s Office completes their review.

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