DA Murray clears Sheriff's deputies in non-fatal shooting of Swaringen
District Attorney Andrew Murray announced March 15 in an email to local news media that Henderson County Sheriff's deputies were justified when they shot and injured an intoxicated man on Aug. 29.
In a letter he sent to the State Bureau of Investigation, Murray said Jeromy Rand Swaringen shouted "shoot me mother f*****s" to deputies before he was shot in the arm as deputies were responding to a domestic disturbance call at 9:13 p.m. Aug. 29 at 2821 Howard Gap Road.
Swaringen's injury was non-life threatening.
"After a thorough review of all the available evidence in this matter, including interview recordings of all of the involved witnesses and immediate responders, hospital notes, deputy notes, investigator notes, body cam recordings and crime scene photos and sketches, I am convinced that each involved deputy was justified in discharging their weapon in an attempt to neutralize a clear and present lethal threat to their lives and the lives of their fellow deputies on-scene," Murray said.
Swaringen's voice shouting those words could be heard on body cam footage from four of the deputies who responded to the incident. Murray said his decision was based on that footage as well as taped interviews from medical personnel who treated Swaringen and other witnesses' testimonies. The EMS personnel interviewed said that Swaringen said he was not upset at the deputies shooting him, Murray said in the letter.
"It is justified under North Carolina law for an officer or any other person to use deadly force if he/she in fact believed that he/she or another person was in imminent danger of great bodily harm or death from the actions of the person who was shot, and this belief is reasonable," Murray said in the letter. "Given the facts of this matter, there is no doubt that each of the deputies that discharged their weapons was in reasonable fear of great bodily injury or death to themselves and/or their colleagues."
The deputies responding to the call were all in full uniform. When they arrived, they surrounded the trailer and announced their presence as deputies, the letter said.
"At this time, deputies heard a female voice say, 'no, put it down, put it down' followed by a female and male occupant exiting the trailer with the male holding a shotgun. Deputies scrambled for any cover they could find in the immediate vicinity, while yelling commands to drop the gun," Murray said.
The letter said that after Swaringen's girlfriend, Ashley Whitaker, came out of the trailer, he came out next and pointed the shotgun at one of the deputies. When that happened eachof the four deputies shot multiple rounds at Swaringen, hitting him once in the upper right arm. Whitaker told deputies that Swaringen suffered from mental and emotional issues and "frequent suicidal thoughts," the letter said.
"Follow-up interviews with several of Swaringen’s family members and friends revealed that Swaringen had been heavily drinking liquor for several hours prior to the incident. His 'gross impairment' was confirmed by a hospital toxicology report showing a blood-alcohol level nearly three times the limit to drive in North Carolina. Despite his foggy memory, Swaringen stated that he remembers holding the shotgun and pointing it toward some light he saw and then being shot," Murray said in the letter.
Swaringen also informed the interviewing agent that he would like to "apologize to the officers involved," Murry said.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: DA Murray clears Sheriff's deputies in non-fatal shooting of Swaringen
