Family disagrees with D.A.’s decision not to file charges in shooting outside Midtown bar

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The family of a man shot and killed by security guards outside a Midtown bar this summer is speaking out after the district attorney decided not to file any charges.

Davidson County District Attorney General Glenn Funk did not find enough probable cause to charge the two security guards in the death of Patrick Charles.

“Every party that had something to do with this they need to be charged because they murdered my son,” said Sandra Booker, Charles’ mother.

Booker said there’s not a day that goes by that she doesn’t think about her son Patrick, and dealing with the grief now coupled with the D,A.’s decision not to move forward with charges in the case is gut-wrenching

“My son wasn’t trying to harm anyone, as the cameras showed that he was shooting in the air,” said Booker.

Charles is seen in surveillance video in June firing shots in a Demonbreun Street parking lot. There was an argument between Charles and his sister’s boyfriend after leaving a nightclub near Music Row. Metro Nashville Police said the boyfriend drove off and Charles allegedly shot towards the car.

Two security guards, Beck Wandrei and Kelvin Torres, fired the deadly shot that hit Charles. He died at the hospital.

“I wasn’t pleased with the whole investigation on what they said,” said Booker.

The district attorney’s office claims Charles was presenting a danger of death and the security officers were stopping the threat.

However, Charles’ family strongly disagrees with the D.A.’s decision.

“They posed more of a threat than he did. He shot in the air and they shot in the direct area of where everybody was at. It didn’t take that many shots. It didn’t,” said Karen Bell, Charles’ aunt.

The district attorney’s investigation revealed that Jack Byrd, a civilian on the scene that night who owns the security company Solaren, picked up Charles’ weapon from the scene and kept it until police arrived.

This raised the question, was evidence tampered by Byrd’s actions? Another layer to this investigation that doesn’t sit right with Charles’ family.

“He asked Ms. Harris (Charles’ fiancé) to put the gun down and if she didn’t put the gun down, they were going to start shooting at her. This is what Jack Byrd said: give me the gun, give me the gun. She gave the gun to him and he put it in his vest and took it home. With a whole murder scene out there. How in the world did that happen? And nobody raised red flags up,” said Bell.

The district attorney’s office claimed Byrd took the gun to preserve it for responding law enforcement.

The family feels like the district attorney’s decision to not prosecute falls short of the justice they are hoping for.

“I know it was a long process, and they have to do their jobs or whatever, but I feel as though it could have been done the right way. I mean if they’re not going to be charged or whatever. I mean somebody’s got to be charged, I mean my son lost his life,” said Booker.

The family plans to continue to pursue a civil suit with their civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump.

Booker and Bell said they will not stop fighting for justice for their loved one.

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