CHARLOTTE- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Violent Criminal Apprehension Team (VCAT) has been going after the area's most violent criminals for almost a decade now.
Major Michael Adams says spend hours looking for and tracking down people before actually going out to make an arrest., and normally, those arrests go unnoticed.
However, on January 3, it was the exact opposite.
Officers were in West Charlotte, trying to arrest 30-year-old Germonta Wallace, when police say he started shooting at them. Eight officers involved shot back and killed the suspect.
“It wasn't something that we did. We just reacted to what his actions were and unfortunately, it had a bad outcome,” says Major Michael Adams.
One officer was shot in the foot and is recovering; the eight officers were placed on administrative leave, but are now back to work.
“This unit is fully operational, and working in this community right now to keep it safe,” Adams says.
Last year, Adams says VCAT was responsible for 400 arrests including 23 for murder, 19 for attempted murder, and 20 for rape/sexual assault, a lot of times, he says they rarely use force.
But, he stands behind the actions of the officers, and says in the end, their goal is to protect the community and get the worst of the worst off the streets.
“They were heroes on Watson drive that night, there's no doubt about that. There were lives at stake, not only their lives, but the community and people that lived around that area...I mean, those people could've been injured because of that situation,” says Adams.
Since 2006, VCAT has been responsible for more than 1,800 arrests.