Det. Michael Poe
Winston-Salem, NC -- The officer who killed a robbery suspect at Kevin Powell Motorsports likely saved innocent lives, the police chief said Wednesday.
Chief Scott Cunningham addressed reporters at his monthly media briefing Wednesday morning and said Det. Michael Poe shot suspect Dallas Conner four times during a confrontation on August 17th.
Cunningham told the media Conner walked in to the business with a shotgun, started pointing it at employees and customers and demanded the keys to a motorcycle.
Poe was inside the store that afternoon on his lunch break, but he was wearing approved department clothing, the chief said: khaki pants and a blue shirt with an embroidered badge and text that said "CID Detective." Cunningham said when a customer pointed out the unfolding situation to Poe, the veteran detective decided he had to act to protect people in the store from being hurt or killed.
"I'm very grateful that Det. Poe was in the business at the time," Cunningham said. "I do believe that he reduced the danger, avoided additional injuries and most likely saved people's lives by actions he took in that situation."
The chief said Conner had a long rap sheet that includes a number of felonies, and that when the robbery happened, he was out on bond for charges in Asheville. Officers in Winston-Salem had identified him as their suspect in a robbery at the Days Inn, too, Cunningham said.
The Winston-Salem Police Department and the SBI are both still investigating. Chief Cunningham said he expects Poe to be back at work from administrative leave soon.
WFMY News 2