Fayetteville police, Cumberland County District Attorney hold press conference on fatal shooting involving Cumberland County deputy

um I think I'm gonna need you to come on

up with that minimizes the distance

So I'm gonna take my mask off so that everyone

can actually hear me when it's time to um talk

and then as we come up he's the district attorney

is gonna step up

So ready I think so

First of all I want to thank everyone for coming

and allowing myself to the District Attorney Billy West to

provide some clarity on questions regarding the shooting of mr

walker yesterday

Allow me first also to share my condolences for the

family

As we understand this is a tragic event

We know many in our community have heavy hearts and

they are grieving and our thoughts are with them as

well

In the course of the investigation it became known who

fired the weapon was an off duty Cumberland County Deputy

Sheriff

Our department is fully able to investigate this incident like

this

I decided early on it would be best to bring

the State Bureau of Investigation to come and parallel the

investigation

Even though this was not an officer involved shooting this

was a shooting that involved someone who is a law

enforcement officer

The investigation process has been handled as any other death

investigation

Yesterday evening I decided to ask the FBI to take

the lead in the investigation and I appreciate them for

taking the lead

I'm joined by District Attorney Billy West we've been working

closely on this discussing from early on he will share

something with you afterwards first

Today the investigators need your help

We would like to hear from anyone who saw what

happened Eyewitnesses

A call FBI at 1888 6-4 7-2 to it is

critical that anyone who saw the incident come forward and

share what they saw with S

P

I

Anytime a death occurs the community should be upset

There are many postings on social media and all too

often rumors and unverified information begins to spread

While this entire situation is under investigation by the FBI

my department has also gathered a great deal of evidence

It's important to share some of the confirmed facts of

this case within public to ensure transparency

As this investigation proceeds here are some facts investigators examine

what is considered the technology of the truck the black

box computer which logs speed braking impact and other events

That computer did not record any impact with any person

or think we currently have no witnesses who claim that

anyone was hit by this truck

We went back and reviewed body worn camera footage and

individuals at the scene indicated they did not witness the

incident

The only witness available to us now tells us the

exact opposite

Again today we asked for any additional with eyewitnesses to

please contact S

B

I

Investigators noted that a windshield wiper was torn off and

the middle portion was used to break the windshield of

the truck in several places

I want everyone to know the faithful leaders take every

shooting seriously

We want our city to be safe a safe place

and we want every allegation of wrongdoing to be fully

and fairly investigated on behalf of everyone involved in investigation

I can assure you that the SB I will continue

the investigation and provide additional updates available as available

We ask everyone in our community to have patience for

this investigative process

Please don't share posts that's false or unverified peaceful protests

and questions about what happened are always appropriate

And when we can share we will if it doesn't

compromise the investigation spreading falsehood doesn't help anyone and it

certainly doesn't advance the cause of justice

I'm gonna give this time for a District Attorney Billy

West to come and share his um important information

And before we start taking questions

Good afternoon

I first want to give condolences to the family of

Jason walker

This was a tragedy for our community

Um Upon learning of this tragedy and I'm speaking with

Chief Hawkins as well as the FBI

What I did was I reached out to three independent

agencies

The Attorney General's office of north Carolina the north Carolina

Conference of district attorneys as well as the north Carolina

Administrative office of the courts

And I explained to them from what we knew at

that point this unique set of circumstances as Chief Hawkins

has laid out that we had an off duty Cumberland

county Sheriff's office Deputy that the fabled Police department was

the first to respond and that the FBI has taken

the lead in the investigation

Their recommendation was to avoid even a appearance of a

conflict of interest in this matter

Their recommendation was to request an independent prosecutorial agency be

assigned

I am my senior staff agree and concur with this

recommendation

The administration the Administrative office of the courts has assigned

the north Carolina Conference of District Attorneys as the independent

prosecutorial agency in this matter

At my request the Conference of District Attorneys is an

independent prosecutorial agency with statewide jurisdiction with very competent and

experienced prosecutors at their disposal and I'm sure that they

will make the decision of which one of the prosecutors

to assign this specific case

But again this was a decision made based on the

recommendation of the north Carolina Attorney General's Office Conference of

District Attorneys and the Administrative Office of the courts to

avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest in

this case

We want public confidence in this process as Chief Hawkins

laid out very similarly the FBI is asked to do

an independent investigation and we're asking an outside agency that

has no connection to this jurisdiction to serve as the

prosecutorial agency in this matter

So I turn it back over to Chief Hawkins at

this time

So of course we're open for questioning on both of

our parts

So first question I have a question really quickly

Um do you know the identity of this person

And are you willing to release that so of the

suspect in this case Of course we know the identity

of the person and for a state law We do

not

Why does he not taking it to be immediately It

would seem as if he is attacked he taxpayers to

be paying salary

You were able to come out and say he does

work for the Sheriff's department

Why are we not able to get his name And

why does he not taken into custody immediately So one

good question

So that's another false statement

He was taken into custody and we got his statement

So so thank you for that clarifying of whether or

not he was taken in and then gone through the

process which is um we did bring him here and

he was and um investigated probably

So thank you for that question

That's if you don't leave at this point during the

investigation he is so remember he is treated like any

other citizen right We don't control who he works for

We tell you in regards to the investigation

So I have no idea

He doesn't work for me

That's something that Mr West could answer

Do we know Okay at this point you said that

the only other witness who saw what happened you said

that they said the opposite

Can you clarify

What exactly did the eyewitness who saw what happened Say

to you So the the question of was he struck

by a vehicle

Um The witness said he was not struck by a

view

That's the clearing

Yes sir tim with abc 11

Is there any indication that Jason walker and this off

duty officer knew each other

My second question is also what type of weapon was

used

Was it a personal firearm or was it a work

issue So no there is no um indication they knew

each other at all and at this point it was

not a service

Well do you know what type of weapon it was

No I personally don't know right now

Not that I couldn't find it but that's part of

the investigation

Somebody said out there that he was shot in the

back

I do not know that either

I do not know that either

I do not know that as well and that is

up for the Emmys

That is correct

Yes at 17

I'm sorry let me go back and if he does

go up under arrest or he will be going to

arrest under the S

P

I got it

Yes that is correct

You've spoken to what witnesses have shared with you

I mean there is a lot of chatter rise I'm

sure you're aware of social media in the community the

same but the vehicle did strike where that information is

coming from and yes witnesses

So thank you for that question regarding if the witness

or say anything or what's going on

So not only did we get statements but we also

went back and watched body worn camera of statements that

were said immediately by everyone out there and it is

no one said they witnessed anything

But at this point there's no footage of the actual

incident

Not that we have if anyone please if anyone has

footage of the incident before the incident to include if

you have footage from your home because we did a

preliminary um what is called preliminary inquiry of all the

homes out there to see if they have like uh

green camera footage

If you have footage of that

What happened beforehand please provide it to the FBI that's

gonna be very helpful for them and for Mr West

I was just asking I know that this definitely does

not work for you but obviously you're from the county

would it be your recommendation to the sheriff at this

point that this deputy should be placed on administrative leave

That would be within the sheriff's purview completely you know

his employment decisions

So that question better addressed to him

I have a question for Chief Hawkins and virus

A couple of questions

The 1st 1 did Mr Walker have it with um

as far as what weapon like a gun as you're

asking I have been not told that he had any

gun

And secondly I know that the person who did the

shooting in this case Sheriff's office employees you can't speak

to their training or regulations but but in general in

terms of the federal police Department what is there is

what is the federal police officers whether off duty or

on what's their responsibility to render aid to someone they

may have shot in the head

So every case every situation where it's a shooting involved

involves the totality of the situation

So being trying to indicate what someone will do will

involve knowing all the facts of the situation

So unfortunately I'm not able to answer that question because

every situation is totally different at this point

Is there an indication whether the deputy stepped outside the

car and then shot or did the shots go through

the window Um the shots did not go through the

windshield

Okay

Speaking of 911 are just going to 911 calls um

was 911 call ever placed by the suspect in this

case

Are you speaking Was the the the the shooter the

shooter did place a 91 call

Yes and chief are you able to elaborate anymore on

on what what exactly the deputy reports happened here I

mean obviously the according to the press release apparently jumped

the press release that jumped on top of the vehicle

Is there is there any further comment on on what

other than what we've already provided on the original press

release And at this time this is when we start

gathering true evidence and facts

True eyewitness statements

True

Like I said the documentation of the black box is

crucial

The review of the vehicle is crucial to say did

this happen So not depending on solely a statement is

crucial

If we can have camera footage footage collection of evidence

even if we had someone um saying outside situation confessed

to a crime we work hard to gather the evidence

to present to the district attorney for a case of

the That was shot by the Lady's husband

That was interesting

82

Have you seen that video I have sir

And in that video you hear the deputies say that

the crowd is being hostile when you can clearly see

in the video

That's not the case

Do you sort of question what the deputy might say

no no sir Um One I've watched it but I

didn't watch it that in depth

But also we have no idea what occurred beforehand but

I also heard the other person say no that's not

true

So I don't know what we don't know what occurred

beforehand and that's why we're here

We're here for anyone who has evidence video recording or

even a person who was there beforehand at any point

to come and provide statements for the S

P

I

That's that's the most important thing

Chief Hawkins can you provide clarity about the windshield wiper

You mentioned that it was broken

What are you insinuating or suggesting with that And I

also want to know has anybody told you why walker

was going in that direction So for your first question

I'm just not insinuating

I'm providing you facts of the scene that we have

So the torn off windshield wiper and um the damage

to the window existence

Those are facts

Um um we have no idea because we have no

statement from a witness thus far of where they were

going or what they were doing talking about Mr walker

correct

And we're waiting for those statements as well

Now the FBI is waiting for those things

We talked about that black box and that talked about

how important that is to the investigation

As far as I was able to detect if he

was hit at full speed or is able to detect

if he jumped on the vehicle

Where does that lock Where do you draw the line

when it comes to looking at that Thank you for

that question

Let me repeat that black box was crucial to determine

that vehicle did not impact anything or anyone

Would that include him if he jumped up onto the

vehicle would that would you consider that impact Um possibly

But jumping on and climbing on two different things

So with the black box we will determine and as

well as other um reviewing any injury to Mr walker

was not did not indicate anything other than the gunshot

wounds

So there was not any vehicle injury to his body

that was seen in that video shot by the woman's

husband

Was that in the wake of the shooting Police arrived

on scene and did not provide first aid first aid

provided until the E

M

S

Arrived on scene

Was that typical that officers wouldn't come and try to

attend to the person at all at that point So

you watch the video correct And and you have your

were well aware of the person who was providing first

aid was someone in the medical profession

There's a lot of things that happened when you arrived

at the scene as that trying to secure the scene

trying to secure evidence

Um as well as ensuring that the person is provided

first aid

That person was a medical profession professional

If you recall that person our officer did bend down

reassure it was being provided and went on

So there was medical attention as well as we had

already started

Um E

M

T

S

And route to the scene

And then the deputy involved in the shooting was his

weapon taken by officers who arrived at the scene

And if not is that standard We have what is

it the so like I said I don't know the

caliber

I don't know the caliber

That's what your question was right

But we have these weapons

So you want me to answer something

I don't know the caliber but I know it wasn't

a service weapon but we had that weapon the walker

was shot

No I do not know

I do not

We know that just a few moments ago out here

in front of your department the individual who rendered a

made a statement that she left a statement with one

of your officers that was about a minute long

And she said that she had never been contacted by

your office since you tell us

Is that true So um what we have requested that

individual um to one provided us with a copy of

the video at the scene and we were notified that

individual to please to get a statement

We also went last night to try to make contact

with that individual yesterday and we just haven't been able

to

So if that person um provided that information if they

can provide it to S

P

I

So we have been making attempts to contact the individual

but now they can contact the FBI chief to your

knowledge the sheriff's deputy involved in the incident

Has he shown any remorse Um I have no idea

about that

And I just want to clarify

You have not spoken yet with the woman who rendered

aid because because she has made statements saying that she

so you know the vehicle ahead

I'm familiar with that

And as I made my statement there is remember there

is body worn camera video footage of people who made

statements on the scene

But if there is someone who has who is a

witness by all means come we made attempts to contact

that individual again

But we're glad that they're still reaching out

Now hopefully they have a number now for S

P

I

District Attorney West will you be losing the body warn

camera video Well again at this point the case has

been formally assigned to the U

S

Conference of district attorneys

So they would um be making any decisions along with

the FBI

That's the law enforcement agency that that's involved as to

whether or not they will release it or not

I know there are state statutes that that governed that

release that have to be followed

That would be a question now for the FBI and

or the conference of district attorneys

I have one more question for you and that comes

down to the communication between the investigation on the side

of the table Police Department and the FBI of those

investigations coincide

So as I've mentioned before we brought them in early

on um just in case

So the FBI has been in with the investigation

They came very quickly and it wasn't until yesterday evening

that they took it off

So they've been a part of listening to interviews

They've been a part of paying attention

So now it's an easy transition of um where evidence

is held

So we worked together all the time with the FBI

So it's an easy transition and communications Questions because we've

been through this in the last 18 months

So these protesters outside of this office today

They're pretty angry there

They lived here and they went to the courthouse they

came from the courthouse they came back up here they

went back there and they said they're not going away

you're concerned about if this will lead us back to

any issues that we experienced in the last okay 30th

So um one the purpose of this conference is for

transparency and to share information to eliminate false false statements

That's going to social media to make it clear what

we have and also to gather witnesses to gather anyone

who was there

We are seeking those individuals sp i is seeking those

individuals to come bring whatever you have so that they

can continue with the investigation

So um one to clarify the evidence that we do

have is factual not based solely on statements and and

the FBI has all information

So have you been in contact with I think our

community is um really responsible and I think our community

is open to the facts

Um I know as I said in my statement we're

upset as we should be

We should be upset at every every death that happens

in our community um ensuring that it is investigated thoroughly

Everyone's afforded due process every step is prepared so that

who is going to make the final decision has all

the facts available is crucial is important

Have you made any contact with sheriff right about this

incident If you've spoken with him at all other than

notifying him of his employee

Mr

The standard ground laws here that we might that you

might be aware of

Yeah

Again I wouldn't I wouldn't want to comment on those

You know one thing we cannot do is prosecutors and

certainly now that this has been assigned to another Hc

is comment on the facts of a pending case

Which is what this is right now on a pending

investigation

But just kind of

it's relatively complex

So I really don't think I could do it justice

by getting into the details and I apologize for that

But there's been several statutes that have that have been

passed in the last several years that that deal with

those issues and I would not want to to mistake

those

And again certainly I would not want to in any

way try to apply them to this this situation because

it would be inappropriate to do this to do that

at this point the investigation

So once again I thank everyone for coming out and

and sharing this information and being crucial and please continue

to have patients understand um questions now should be coming

towards the FBI continue to feed that information

And even if you want to provide the crime stoppers

we will share the information with the FBI

So thank you for coming

I appreciate it

Our lead investigator

special agent

The charge is mitch deeper

He is the special agent in charge

He's in charge of our the Southeastern Division of the

State Bureau of Investigation and he was here last night

He will assign he will assign probably one of his

agents to be the lead agent

That's the short answer is no I don't think drivers

Yeah

Mhm