Friends and relatives of Auburn shooting victims are asking the Auburn Police Division for more transparency regarding recent and past deadly incidents.
At a protest gathering Saturday afternoon outside the department's headquarters, the mother of Melissa Boarts, who was the victim of an Auburn officer-involved shooting on April 3, said she wants justice for her daughter.
“We’re here to get justice, to be able to see the bodycam, any footage they have,” said Terry Boarts, mother of Melissa Boarts. “They knew her mental state at the time. They knew she only had a pocketknife.”
Thirty-six-year-old Melissa Boarts of Montgomery was shot and killed when two Auburn Police Division officers fired their weapons at her in Macon County. Terry Boarts initially called law enforcement to help her daughter, who Terry Boarts said was suicidal and could potentially have cut her wrists with the pocketknife. The unidentified officers are on paid administrative leave.
Auburn police followed Melissa Boarts down Interstate 85 into Macon County, where police say she stopped her vehicle, exited and charged officers with a weapon in a threatening manner.
“They’re calling it a weapon, but it was a three-inch pocketknife, which the SBI investigators did admit,” Terry Boarts said. “I told them that she was bipolar, manic depressive and had PTSD and that she had a pocketknife with her. They could have tased her, maced her, but they chose to shoot her.”
Auburn Police Chief Paul Register said last week that as per procedure, the APD has turned over its evidence, including dash and body camera footage, to the State Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the incident.
Also at the gathering of 40-50 people was Elois Cobb, the mother of 43-year-old Recco Cobb, who was one of three Auburn men who died of gunshot wounds on April 23 outside Mr. D’s Lodge in Auburn.
Elois Cobb said her son’s friends were trying to take him to the hospital before he died.
“The police let cars by, but they stopped Recco’s truck and Recco was still living,” she said.
Twenty-five-year-old Jadarrion Spinks and 32-year-old Roderick Nelms also died that night; one man was injured and another was arrested in what police described as a deadly shootout that was ongoing when officers arrived and scrambled to secure the scene.
Former Auburn City Councilman Bishop Arthur Dowdell said he has been in contact with the U.S. Justice Department regarding the release of the dash and body camera footage for these incidents.
“I have already talked to the Justice Department and they told me to be patient,” Dowdell said. “We know they may come, but the only thing that we’re asking is that the Auburn Police Department release these bodycams. There’s too much corruption going on and we’ve got to do something about it.”
