The Pineville Police Department has named the deceased in the Tavern 51 Officer Involved Shooting as Coleton Maxwell Floren DOB 07/20/2000.
Coleton Maxwell Floren Photo Courtesy MCSO
Floren was on active probation for weapons and drug charges. Records show dozens of charges (42) between 2017 and 2024. With a total of six convictions in Union and Mecklenburg Counties.
As a convicted felon Floren was prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Video released shows Floren pacing behind seated patrons with a weapon which he raises towards one patron.
The Local Paper Goes To Court Pineville Releases Audio
Pineville released recordings of a 911 call and police radio communications from the incident Monday afternoon. In the 911 call, the caller — another customer — said the police needed to get to the bar quickly because Floren was “drunk out of his mind” and threatening to “shoot up the place.”
Floren was mad, the caller said, because he wouldn’t let Floren buy him a drink. He told the dispatcher he saw Floren with three guns and that he pointed a 9mm gun at him and threatened to kill him.
He said he didn’t know what other guns Floren had. At one point, after the customer said Floren left the bar and went outside, the caller went to a nearby Planet Fitness to keep an eye on Floren.
When a police officer arrived, the caller pointed Floren out to him. In the background, an officer can be heard giving Floren commands, including to tell him to turn around and to stop, before two shots can be heard and someone yells. Then the audio cuts off.
In the police radio communications recording, which was over 13 minutes long, an officer was given information that the customer in the 911 call provided, as well as a description of Floren, who was wearing a white hoodie and black sweatpants, according to the recordings.
Around two minutes into the recording, an officer confirmed he arrived. The audio then cuts to the aftermath of the shooting. The recording does not include the initial confrontation, the officer commanding Floren to stop, or when the shots were fired.
Another also confirmed shots were fired by a police officer, and that MEDIC was needed. At one point, while the officers were waiting for medical support to arrive, an officer confirmed they were near the Planet Fitness and that Floren was still breathing.
Another officer at the scene later said he found Floren’s gun beside a trash can in front of a store called Cigar and Vape.
Investigators also put down markers near items at the scene, an officer said.
Cedar's Take:
Based on additional facts, Floren may have been unarmed at the time he was engaged by the Pineville Officer. However the perceived threat is still present given Floren's actions and the Officer's knowledge at the time.
Still there will be no fire storm of media coverage, no protests, no vigil held at the shopping center where Floren apparently threatened patrons. Because Floren is white his life apparently didn't matter as much as if he was black.
Finally Media's portrayal of Tavern 51 as a "bar" is rather sad. Tavern 51 is no more a bar than Hickory Tavern, or the now closed Fox and Hound, or others in the area.
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