No charges for off-duty North Carolina deputy who fatally shot pedestrian amid confrontation
The off-duty deputy who shot and killed a Black pedestrian amid a confrontation on a busy North Carolina road earlier this year won't face charges, a prosecutor announced Thursday.
The special prosecutor who reviewed charges in the fatal shooting of Jason Walker on Jan. 8 determined Lt. Jeffrey Hash had reason to fear bodily harm and to defend himself.
Kimberley Spahos, director of the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys, wrote in a letter Thursday that the shooting occurred after Walker jumped onto Hash's private vehicle "for an unknown reason," ripped the windshield wiper off and began to smash the windshield.
Hash's wife and daughter were inside the vehicle.
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After shouting at Walker to stop, Hash then exited his truck. Walker lunged at Hash, who shot Walker four times, according to the letter.
An autopsy released in March found that Walker had gunshot wounds to his head, chest, back and thigh. The report noted that no alcohol or illegal drugs were found in his system.
Fayetteville officials have released three police body camera videos from the scene, showing witnesses as well as Walker's shocked father describing the chaotic scene to police officers.
The videos do not show the shooting or what led up to it. The prosecutor's investigation did not provide clarity on what prompted Walker to approach the truck in the first place.
The witnesses described how Walker jumped on the vehicle, and his father said Walker tore off a windshield wiper.
"He came out the yard and I was trying to get him to come back over here," Anthony Walker said. "And I called him. I said, 'Come back, Jason.'"
North Carolina self-defense law allows the use of deadly force if someone reasonably believes they or another person are in imminent danger of great bodily harm or death, Spahos wrote.
"In this case, the evidence clearly supports the conclusion that Hash reasonably believed that he, his wife, and his child were in imminent danger of great bodily injury or death at the hands of Walker," Spahos said.
The letter also noted that, in considering criminal charges, prosecutors had to determine whether they could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime happened.
But an attorney for Walker’s family said self-defense laws like North Carolina's justify killings of people of color. The laws enable "people who are quick to pull the trigger and end a life," civil rights attorney Ben Crump said in a statement, which said an officer like Hash should have known how to deescalate a tense situation without using deadly force.
"The decision from the special prosecutor to not press charges against Jeffrey Hash is upsetting to everyone who knew and loved Jason in his life and has mourned his untimely death," said Civil rights attorney Ben Crump. "This case speaks to the need for reform of the North Carolina laws and their equivalents across the nation that allow unnecessary deadly force as a means of self-protection, which we often see loosely interpreted."
The shooting ignited protests in Fayetteville from demonstrators who demanded police accountability.
An attorney for Hash, Parrish Daughtry, praised the special prosecutor's decision.
“We greatly appreciate that this was not a quick arrest situation, but rather that the state did what appears to be a very thorough investigation,” she said. She said her client grieves for the loss of life and for Walker's family.
Contributing: Celina Tebor, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Jason Walker shooting: No charges for North Carolina deputy
