OFFICER EXONERATED IN DRUG-STING SHOOTING

A Fayetteville police officer who shot a man during a drug sting last
fall did nothing wrong, District Attorney Ed Grannis says.

The officer, George Blanco, shot Renauld Sylvester Curtis on Oct. 29
after Curtis drove into four officers while trying to flee, lawmen
have said.

The Fayetteville Police Department asked the State Bureau of
Investigation to investigate the shooting.

Special Agent Jerry Weaver, who supervises the Fayetteville office,
said the SBI gave its findings to Grannis on Wednesday. Grannis wrote
a letter the same day exonerating Blanco, Weaver said.

"It is clear that the shooting of Renauld Curtis by Officer George
Blanco of the Fayetteville Police Department did not violate any
criminal laws of the state of North Carolina," Weaver said, quoting
Grannis' letter.

"The efforts to protect himself and other law enforcement officers of
the Fayetteville Police Department on that night in question by
Officer Blanco were lawful."

Officer Mary Bueno also fired at Curtis but did not hit him.

Grannis could not be reached for comment Friday.

Police have said that Curtis was shot two or three times. He survived
but was seriously injured, Weaver said. Those injuries delayed the
SBI's ability to interview him and finish its report until this week,
Weaver said.

The SBI interviewed all witnesses to the shooting, Weaver
said.

Blanco and Bueno were placed on paid administrative leave, which is
routine during police shooting investigations, but have since returned
to their normal duties.

Police Sgt. Wayne Burgess said he does not know what charges have been
filed against Curtis. He said the officers handling that case were
unavailable Friday.

The shooting occurred about 10:45 p.m. in a parking lot at the Mount
Sinai Homes apartment complex on Blue Street near Murchison Road.
Undercover narcotics officers and officers from the emergency response
team were at the apartment complex as part of a drug sting.

Police have offered this version of events:

Officers had parked a van behind Curtis' car. He backed up into the
van several times. Two officers were caught in the driver's door of
the van and were hit by the car. The back of the car also hit other
officers.

Curtis drove out of the parking lot in 1994 Infiniti and hit Blanco,
forcing him onto the car's hood. Blanco fired several shots at Curtis.
Curtis slammed on his brakes, and Blanco was thrown to the ground.

As Curtis sped out of the lot, he hit an undercover police vehicle and
drove onto a grassy area. The Infiniti overturned into a creek.
Officers ran to the car and pulled Curtis to safety.

In September, an undercover Fayetteville police officer shot Claybrook
Asbury Adams in the mouth during a drug arrest. The shooting happened
about 7 p.m. in the parking lot of an Eckerd drugstore at the corner
of Bingham Drive and Raeford Road. In March, Grannis said Officer
Terrance Phillips was justified in shooting Adams because he "had
reasonable grounds to fear for his safety."