news-record.com

GREENSBORO — An investigation has cleared the seven Greensboro police officers involved in a fatal shootout in February.

Christopher O’Neal Patterson, 23, and Dimarkchrisy Eddie Majors, 22, are suspected of robbing the Wachovia bank branch on High Point Road about 5 p.m. Feb. 9.

A man who was pistol-whipped in the robbery called police with a description of the suspects and their getaway vehicle and provided turn-by-turn directions of their route as he followed them.

Police said the suspects shot at officers during a pursuit before the suspects lost control and crashed near an entrance to Interstate 40 Business. Seven police officers were involved in a roadside shootout with the suspects. Both suspects were wounded; Majors died the next day.

Officer Matt O’Hal was struck by the suspects’ vehicle when it crashed and was shot twice in the gun battle, but he expects to make a full recovery.

In a news release issued Friday, District Attorney J. Douglas Henderson said the officers' actions during the case were "lawful, appropriate and commendable."

"They acted to defend themselves, their fellow officers and the general public," he said.

Patterson has been charged at the state level with one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the bank robbery. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in late February on charges of armed bank robbery, bank robbery, discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Additional charges are pending.