Bond amount for suspect in Charlotte police officer’s shooting ‘unacceptable,’ chief says

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings, in a YouTube video late Wednesday, called the bond amount for the suspect accused of shooting and wounding an officer “absolutely unacceptable.”

Toddrick McFadden of Charlotte was arrested and charged in the shooting of the officer who was responding to a 911 call at a NoDa bar early Tuesday. The officer, whose name has not been released, was shot in the leg and is resting at home, police said.

McFadden, 32, is charged with discharging a weapon into occupied property, two counts of attempted murder, and two counts of assault on a law enforcement officer, CMPD said in a news release Wednesday.

He was released on a $170,000 bond, according to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office website.

The bond amount “astonished” Jennings, who called it “absolutely unacceptable” in the video — his second this week.

“So, if I’m correct, paying 10% of that bond to be released on the streets equates to $17,000,” he said. “So, something’s definitely wrong with the system, and I’m committed to put in the work to do everything that I can on my part to fix this.”

RELATED: What to do and how to stay safe if you hear gunshots in a public place

The shooting happened around 2:30 a.m. after officers responded to shots being fired into a building in the 400 block of East 36th Street, police said.

An issue with a customer at The Blind Pig in NoDa led up to the shooting, the Observer previously reported. The customer was asked to leave the bar after an altercation occurred, police said.

Police said they were speaking to a person of interest Tuesday afternoon, but it is unclear if McFadden is that individual.

McFadden was arrested at a north Charlotte home on Tuesday after an hours-long police search, WSOC reported.

Jennings vowed to continue discussions with the Mecklenburg County Magistrate’s Office.

“Your lives are worth a whole lot more than $17,000 to let someone back out on the street,” he said.

One week, 3 police shootings

Tuesday’s shooting is the third time in the past week that a CMPD officer has been fired upon while responding to a 911 call, Jennings said in a tweet on Tuesday.

“It’s a disturbing trend that our men and women in uniform are being fired at while doing their jobs, and it’s not just in Charlotte where this is happening,” the tweet said.

▪ Joshua Gaither, 32, is accused of firing shots at police from inside a home in the 5800 block of Hunting Ridge Lane on June 23. He is charged with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of assault on a law enforcement officer, police said.

No CMPD officers fired back, and none were injured, after a SWAT team de-escalated the situation, the Observer previously reported.

▪ Kevin Boston, 45, shot at officers on Sunday, police said. The officers returned fire, striking Boston, who died at a hospital. Police said Boston was a suspect in an armed robbery of a Food Lion on Tuckaseegee Road in west Charlotte.

Police chief, FOP react

In his first YouTube video this week, recorded at the scene in NoDa on Tuesday, Jennings said “we need to turn the narrative that we see so often about the vilification of law enforcement.”

The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #9 said “Charlotte must do better” in a Facebook post following Tuesday’s shooting.

Daniel Redford, the lodge’s president, told the Observer in a statement that reform within the bond system is needed.

“Babies are being murdered and shot, and those committing these heinous acts are getting younger and younger,” he said. “Our court system seemingly rewards criminality by letting violent offenders out on low/no bonds.”