Wake DA rules on Raleigh police officers who shot Molotov-wielding man 11 times

Raleigh police officers won’t be charged for fatally shooting a man who threw ignited cups of flammable liquid at them, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman reported Monday.

Officers fired 30 rounds at Reuel Rodriguez-Núñez on May 7 after he threw a Molotov cocktail toward an officer, The News & Observer previously reported.

He was struck 11 times in the parking lot outside the Raleigh Police Department’s Southeast District station on Rock Quarry Road, an autopsy found. His injuries included wounds to his left lung and heart.

“The evidence in this case reflects that Mr. Nuñez repeatedly threw cups with flammable liquid that were ignited at law enforcement officers after repeated commands to stop and that he posed a risk of imminent deadly bodily harm to those at the scene as well as the public that was nearby,” Freeman wrote in her ruling released Monday.

Rodriguez-Núñez, 37, began setting two parked vehicles on fire outside the station after driving into the parking lot in a mini-van, security footage shows. An officer arrived about 15 minutes later, and three more followed.

Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson previously said Rodriguez-Núñez ignored repeated commands to stop throwing the “Molotov cocktails,” and that after he threw one at an officer, four officers fired back.

Confrontation with Raleigh police

Body camera footage released by police showed Rodriguez-Núñez’s non-verbal confrontation with police, and police attempting to engage and reason with him.

Master Officer P.W. Coates, who stood closest to Rodriguez-Núñez, is heard goading him, the footage shows.

“Do it! Do it! Go a-(expletive)-head. Go right (expletive) ahead. Go ahead (expletive). Do it! Do it!” he shouted with his weapon drawn.

He also shouted to the other officers “Give me the go ahead!”

Another officer had previously said: “Calm down brother. You don’t have to do this.”

The district attorney said her findings are separate from whether officers acted professionally or in accordance with department standards and policies. That falls under a separate internal investigation, which the Police Department said it would conduct.

“The decision of the District Attorney is limited to an analysis of the criminal law and should not be seen to condone conduct that is unprofessional,” Freeman wrote. “Officer Coates’ conduct does not change the analysis of whether lethal use of force was lawful.”

The N&O has reached out to police for an update on their investigation of officer conduct in the incident.

Prior to Coates’ arrival on the scene, officers had legal justification in using force against Rodriguez-Núñez, who posed a threat to officers and potentially to cars passing by on Rock Quarry Road a few yards away, Freeman contends.

Mental health struggles

Rodriguez-Núñez struggled with mental health issues, his family previously told reporters. No drugs or alcohol were found in his system, according to the medical examiner’s report.

Activists with Emancipate NC called for Coates to be fired for his actions.

Jasiel Rodriguez-Núñez, Reuel’s older brother, spoke to reporters a news conference in June.

“This did not have to end like this,” Jasiel Rodriguez-Núñez said. “My brother ... was just sending a message of his mental illness. It was a way of speaking out in his mind. He was having a breakdown.”

Reuel had been jailed in 2021 and had problems there that lengthened his sentence, his brother said. He was having “a tough time” after being released in September that year, he said.