Jason Walker: Black man shot dead by off-duty cop, police and witness accounts clash
FAYETTEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA: A Fayetteville man named Jason Walker, 37, was killed outside of his home over the weekend. The off-duty cop who killed him claims that he shot at the victim after he ran into traffic and jumped onto the truck the cop was driving. But witnesses allege that the cop hit the victim with his truck and then shot him.
According to the statement given by the Fayetteville Police Department, Jason ran into traffic and jumped on a moving vehicle when he was shot by the driver (an off-duty cop), who later called 911. Police declined to release the involved deputy's name citing North Carolina public records law.
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BREAKING: Protesters are marching through downtown Fayetteville calling for justice for Jason Walker, a 37-year-old Black man shot and killed yesterday by an off-duty Cumberland Sheriff’s Deputy.
— Keenan Willard (@KeenanWRAL) January 9, 2022
Walker’s family is about to hold a press conference, watch it online on @WRAL. pic.twitter.com/59SECmyiWN
After the shooting happened, a video has been circulating on social media channels. The video shows a man standing by a red pickup truck and talking on phone as two women and another man attempt to save the person lying on the ground. One women said, "I don't know where the entry point is, he won't tell me where he shot him." The person who fired the gun, standing by the open door of the truck can be heard speaking on the phone, "I'm trying to protect my daughter and my wife." He further added, "People are hostile right now." Listening to these words, a shirtless man across the street tells him, "Nobody is hostile. Don't you say that. Nobody is hostile".
Soon after, two Fayetteville police officers walk up to the scene where two women were still attempting to save the victim. One woman says, the victim has very weak pulse. When the police officers asked the people standing around, "Who saw it?". The shirtless man says he didn't see it but heard it. He said, "I heard four gunshots and came outside". The presumed shooter tells the officer, "I was coming down here. He ran across the street so I stopped. He jumped on my car, started screaming, pulled my windshield wipers and starts beating the glass. I have my daughter, my child in here. "
Yesterday in NC, an off duty suspected race soldier who works as a Cumberland County Sheriff hit a Black man named Jason Walker with his truck, then immediately shot & killed the victim.
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) January 9, 2022
The suspected race soldier is being protected by the system pic.twitter.com/UT5K3Np05d
Elizabeth Ricks, the bystander who tried to apply pressure to walker's wounds to save him said that the cop who shot Jason didn't make any effort to help or render aid. She said that instead, he was "calling his boss" with the sheriff's office. Ricks told the crowd, "I saw everything. I heard everything. I saw a brother... somebody who needed me. No one else was going to help him. He wasn't acting crazy. He didn't jump into traffic. How would Jason jump onto a big truck? Then you fear for your life and you're in a big truck? You say you're trying to protect your family and your daughter, who's trying to protect people like us? I will forever fight for Jason."
A person who claimed to be Jason's cousin said that he was involved in the social justice movement and cared about the community. He tried to help young boys at the age where they need strong Black male role models. He said, "He'd want answers, he'd want justice." He also stated that he will dedicate his life to "making sure Jason gets justice. And he's going to get it." The police briefing revealed that the deputy has not been arrested yet, but it is unclear if he is in custody. The police authorities have also stated that the state Bureau of Investigation would take over the investiagation.