Greensboro Man Accused of Firing at Officers Released from Hospital, Arrested

Oliver Wendell Watlington, 59, was arrested Feb. 15 and booked into the Guilford County Jail after being released from a local hospital where he was treated for wounds from an officer-involved shooting on Jan. 24, according to the Greensboro Police Department and reporting by WFMY and ABC11. Police say he is being held without bond.

Police say officers were searching for Watlington around 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 24 in connection with an incident two days earlier in the parking lot of Studio 6 when they located him in the 2000 block of Veasley Street. “When officers located him on Veasley Street and attempted to take him into custody, Watlington fired a handgun at officers. An officer returned fire, striking him,” the department statement reported to local outlets.

Officers provided aid at the scene before Watlington was transported to a hospital for treatment, the Greensboro Police Department said. Both Watlington and one officer were hospitalized; local reporting states the officer was treated at a medical facility and later released. Sources do not provide additional medical details about Watlington’s injuries beyond that he was hospitalized and later discharged.

Following his hospital release, Watlington was arrested and charged in connection with the Jan. 24 confrontation. “Watlington is charged with assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon in connection with the officer-involved shooting,” police reporting stated. At booking in the Guilford County Jail, he was also served with additional warrants charging two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, sexual battery, assault on a female, misdemeanor crime of domestic violence and interfering with emergency communications. “He is being held without bond,” the reporting noted.

The Greensboro Police Department’s Professional Standards Division has opened an internal review to “determine whether departmental policies were followed,” and the officer involved was placed on administrative duty “in accordance with department policy,” officials told local outlets. ABC11 and WFMY describe the probe as ongoing, with one outlet noting, “This remains an active investigation.”

Several specifics remain unreported in public accounts: news reports do not identify which officer fired the shot, whether body-worn camera or dash-cam footage exists or will be released, the precise nature of the Studio 6 parking lot incident that prompted the Jan. 24 search, nor the medical specifics of injuries to Watlington or the named officer. Court arraignment dates and statements from the Guilford County District Attorney’s office were not included in initial reporting; Watlington’s booking into the county jail occurred on Feb. 15 and prosecutors’ next steps have not yet been announced. Local reporters and the Greensboro Police Department say they will provide updates as the internal investigation and criminal proceedings move forward.