Sgt. Wytasha Carter honored as hero in blue

Capt. James Jackson, of the Birmingham Police Department North Precinct, said Major Crimes Sgt. Wytasha Carter, affectionately known as “Wyt” by family and friends, was the type of supervisor who wouldn’t just tell you what to do. 

He would say, “I’m going to do it with you.”

Dwayne Thompson, a civilian crime prevention officer at the North Precinct who crossed paths with Carter and the other North Precinct officers often, said even though Carter was just promoted to sergeant earlier in 2018, the officers already respected him and knew his reputation of being a great guy and hard-working supervisor. 

“They knew he understood them, and he would get out there, just like the night that he lost his life. He was not going to ask anything of anybody that he wasn’t going to put his hands on,” Thompson said. 

Carter, a 44-year-old U.S. Air Force veteran who lived in the Eagle Point area with his wife and had a 15-year-old son and 24-year-old daughter, was shot and killed Jan. 13 around2 a.m. 

Carter responded when an undercover officer requested backup after spotting two men pulling on car door handles in the 900 block of Fifth Avenue North, a specially targeted area by the BPD due to a recent string of vehicle break-ins.

“He loved being a police officer, and just an example of that was that call that he went on — he was one of the first people there,” Jackson said.

As Carter and the officers began to pat the suspects down for weapons, one suddenly produced a handgun and shot the officers, fatally wounding Carter and critically wounding the undercover cop. By the time the Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service took him to UAB Hospital’s Trauma Center, he was pronounced dead. 

“It’s hard. I have a sign in the roll call room that said rule No. 1 is everyone goes home, so he didn’t go home, and that’s hard. … Every day, we walk into that roll call room and his desk is there and he’s not there,” Jackson said.

His smile, Thompson said, was infectious, and “his work ethic was unbelievable.”

“He just worked and worked, always doing and doing and doing better. I think the legacy that he will leave is one of just being an all-around good guy. … There was a genuine goodness about him. I haven’t ran into a person yet that has one bad incident or one bad situation with him and that, within itself, is worthy of talking about,” Thompson said.

Following his death, candlelight vigils and other events celebrating Carter’s service were held across the Greater Birmingham area, along with a vehicle procession and funeral services held at the Legacy Arena at Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex on Jan. 19. On Feb. 14, warrants were executed against Jeremy Elwin Owens for Capital Murder for a Law Enforcement Officer and two counts of Attempted Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer, among others charges.

When Ronald Carter, the slain sergeant’s father, spoke at the funeral, he said he was blown away by the respect and honor that the BPD, as well as the local community, showed their family. People lined the streets in the rain, kids held umbrellas outside of schools and he watched the traffic along U.S. 280 come to a stop when the dozens of police cars shone their blue lights during the procession. 

“To everyone in this country, the love, the outpouring that they are showing my son, my family, it’s just overwhelming us, my wife, my daughter-in-law, his son, his daughter. I mean, we just continuously talk how this is just blowing us away,” Ronald Carter said at the funeral. 

Since Carter’s death, Jackson said the BPD and his team at the North Precinct have been working through the grief by talking and remembering what a passionate police officer Carter was — especially, Jackson added, with the youth. Later this year, pending the chief’s approval, Jackson said Carter was to be recommended to return as a school resource officer, a role he had previously served at Jackson-Olin and Woodlawn high schools.

When Jackson worked with Carter as an SRO, he remembers bringing Carter over and watching him “excel” with the students.

“What I mean by excel is he had plans he put into action, he had visions for the young people, mentorship,” Jackson said. 

Carter mentored kids from several different high schools and worked for the Police Athletic Team, which takes kids on field trips and plays baseball and softball with them. Jackson said he “loved” doing that. 

Thompson said Carter always had a place in his heart for children, and he constantly witnessed how Carter engaged and led kids toward a good path.

“One thing that I admired about him is that he made sure he always, even through all the work and everything he had to do, he would do the best to make himself available, not only for other kids, but for his kids,” Thompson said.

He took every opportunity to “give positive words and to guide and to listen,” Thompson said, and to take difficult situations and spin them in a positive way for the kids, in addition to showing the other cops how to look at the kids in a different light.  

His passion for his department and the young people, Jackson said, “was outstanding,” and he was always making his officers laugh with his jokes. His heart was always in the service aspect of policing, Jackson said, which is one thing the officers remember about Carter the most.

Carter was also an Oak Mountain High School band parent, where he volunteered because his son, Taelen, played percussion. Jackson said the BPD has always been a close-knit family to Carter, and they’ve pledged to act as a father figure and guiding role for Taelen over the next couple years. 

They’ll be there for his big moments, such as playing in the band during big football games and his high school graduation. 

When Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin spoke at Carter’s funeral, he talked about how important family was to Carter. His family, Woodfin said, looked up to him for leadership, advice, guidance and strength, as did his officers. 

“If you talk to anyone who knew Sgt. Carter, his classmates from high school, the people he served with in the Air Force, his neighbors and, above all, these men and women you see at the Birmingham Police Department, as well as his family, you would feel two things,” Woodfin said. “You would feel how deeply loved and respected he is, this man was, by all that knew him, and you would feel how deeply his presence would be missed, not only by those who knew and loved him, but by our entire community. Birmingham is in the deficit because of his passing.”

Donations for Carter’s family and for the wounded officer can be made at any BancorpSouth location under the “Fraternal Order of Police Fallen Officer’s Memorial Fund.” The Oak Mountain High marching band booster club has also been accepting donations for his family.

“My challenge for the other supervisors is don’t let his death be in vain, be servant leaders, serve the public,” Jackson said. “… I’m going to be a better captain because of it and a better leader. Our supervisors are going to be better supervisors, and our officers are going to be better officers, and we are going to be better as a police department.”