Murphy man shot by police, caught on camera, out of hospital; SBI investigating

ASHEVILLE - A Murphy man is out of the hospital and recovering after a mid-December incident captured on film in which Cherokee County law enforcement reportedly shot and injured him.

Jason Harley Kloepfer, 41, a Murphy resident, was shot Dec. 12 by members of the Cherokee Indian Police SWAT team, according to two Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office news releases put out Dec. 13 and Jan. 20.

A video of the incident also was caught on personal cameras filming when the police showed up at an Upper Bear Paw Road residence to serve a search warrant. The video was uploaded to YouTube and numerous personal websites where it continues to be widely circulated.

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What does the video show?

It shows law enforcement apparently outside a small residence, calling for an individual by the name of "Jason" to come out and put his hands up.

A device resembling a wheeled drone appears to be thrown into the residence.

Responding to law enforcement's requests, two people appear to wake from sleep, get up and cross a room. A man picks up the drone-like object and exits the residence.

The man is barely out the door and has his hands raised when the audio of gunfire can be heard. The man falls to the floor, dragging himself back and forth for a moment, asking for help and declaring, "I'm shot. I'm shot," and, "I don't have a gun. I don't have a gun."

Even as he is on the floor, and a woman in the video yells that he's been shot, law enforcement repeat demands someone come out with hands raised.

Later on in the video law enforcement inside the residence notice the indoor cameras.

"Bro, f---," one says. "The cameras."

Law enforcement accounts do not include all the details portrayed in the video.

Kloepfer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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What the police said

According to the releases, someone had called 911 on Dec. 12 and reported “ a disturbance with several gunshots fired” at the residence.

“Deputies attempted to make contact with the alleged shooter but (were) unsuccessful,” the Dec. 13 release stated. “Recognizing there was an armed suspect present and the potential for a hostage situation, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant and requested assistance from the Cherokee Indian Police Department SWAT Team. The suspected shooter engaged in a verbal altercation with officers and emerged from a camper trailer and confronted officers. Members of the Cherokee Indian Police SWAT Team fired upon the suspect and wounded him."

The release said the suspect was transported to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he was last reported in stable condition.

What the shooting victim said

Kloepfer — who according to the Dec. 13 new release was initially charged with “Communicating Threats and Resist, Obstruct, and Delay” — has been publicly posting on Facebook about the incident and his recovery from it. Most recently on Jan. 20 he thanked people for their support.

“I just received everyone's messages, been offline 100% since I posted the video till now,”  Kloepfer wrote Jan. 20. The video of the incident has been shared by several channels on YouTube. One version had more than 96,000 views by the end of January.

“I am physically doing better, mentally me an Ali ain't so good on this one. We are out of state for fear of our lives since I got out the hospital. I can't talk to much about details right now as this is major major case still evolving. But like I said 5 weeks ago, trust me the news is completely wrong and so are my charges. I will be reaching out to everyone over next week or so. This has been and still is a horrible nightmare we are trying to get thru. We will make it thru!!!! Please keep us in your prayers!!! God bless!!”

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What Cherokee County Sheriff Dustin Smith said

Also on Jan. 20, Cherokee County Sheriff Dustin Smith in his office’s second news release regarding the incident tried to explain further the course of events following the December.

“On the evening of December 12, 2022, Emergency 911 dispatch received a report about a possible shooting and hostage situation on Upper Bear Paw Road in Murphy,” Smith said. “Since the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office does not have a tactical team to handle a hostage event, I requested assistance from the Cherokee Indian Police Department SWAT Team. Subsequently, members of CIPD SWAT fired shots at an individual who emerged from the home, injuring him.

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“Following the shooting, my office issued a press release about the event. The release was prepared by the county attorney based on information my office received from CIPD.

“Neither myself nor Chief Deputy Justin Jacobs were on the scene at the time of the shooting, so we relied on information provided to us from the Cherokee Indian Police Department. My goal with issuing that press release was not to comment on the subsequent criminal investigation, which remains ongoing, but rather to update the public on a dangerous situation.”

Smith said the first time he saw video footage from the shooting was Jan. 18.

“It’s my understanding that the state and district attorney’s office has been notified of the video as well,” he added.

A North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation case was opened in December.

Andrew Jones is an investigative reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at @arjonesreports on Facebook and Twitter, 828-226-6203 or arjones@citizentimes.com. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: WNC man shot by Cherokee SWAT team out of hospital, SBI investigating