Bodycam footage shows the grim aftermath of Jason Walker’s death

Amid calls for police accountability, North Carolina authorities on Friday released full-body camera footage related to the death of Jason Walker, who was shot by a deposed sheriff late in the day. last week.

Walker, 37, was fatally shot Saturday by Cumberland County Deputy Sheriff Jerrey Hasher after he allegedly jumped into the officer’s vehicle in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Hash, who has been a member of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office since 2005, was not on duty at the time of the shooting, but confirmed to police that he was reacting in self-defense according to the law. state rules.

The newly released body camera video does not show the events leading up to the shooting, but shows eyewitnesses who recounted the incident to Fayetteville Police officers who arrived at the scene

One man told an officer that Walker jumped on the hood of Hash’s truck — and in response, the officer got out of his car and shot him.

“He came out onto the field, and I was trying to get him back here, and I said, ‘Come back Jason.’ And he went out into the street,” a man tells police in the video. “He was out here on the … street when his friend drove up and he jumped on his hood, and he jumped out and said he was going to shoot.”

At the end of the video, the witness is heard saying “that’s my son”, referring to Walker.

Cumberland County Sheriff Ennis W. Wright put Hash administrative break on Monday, pending an internal investigation. Before taking a leave of absence, Hash was appointed a lieutenant in the civilian department. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has taken over the investigation, but has yet to charge anyone in the incident, which occurred near the intersection of Bingham Drive and Shenandoah Drive.

The shooting sparked fury in the North Carolina community, and prompted Walker’s family to turn to civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump to learn more about their son’s death.

“First, we have to stop this vicious cycle in America and ask the question after it’s Negro. Unacceptable, “Crump said during a protest Thursday at a local church. “I tell the brothers and sisters of Fayetteville, North Carolina tonight that the right thing to do is that we speak the truth about what happened to Jason Walker, that we fight for the truth of what happened. happened to Jason Walker. ”

Also present at the rally was George Floyd’s brother, who was killed in 2020 by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

The release of body-camera footage – recorded by three Fayetteville Police Department officers who responded to the scene after Walker was shot – was ordered by Judge James Ammons Jr.

The order came after a request from Fayetteville Sheriff Gina Hawkins, who noted that the video also featured testimonies from at least three witnesses at the scene. North Carolina law states that law enforcement recordings may be released to the public only after a court petition from an official.

The request comes after police said a preliminary investigation found Walker “ran into traffic and jumped in [the] moving car” that Hash drove on Saturday afternoon.

“The driver of the vehicle shot [Walker] and notified 911,” Fayetteville police said in a statement Saturday.

In a 911 call that lasted nearly four minutes, Hash confirmed to emergency operators that a man jumped on his vehicle and broke his windshield.

“I just shot him. He jumped on my car. I just had to shoot him,” Hash said on the call, later identifying himself as a sheriff’s lieutenant. “I stopped to not hit him and he jumped in my car and started screaming; pulled out my windshield wipers, and started banging on my windshield and breaking my windshield. I had my wife and daughter in my car. “

Shortly after, a witness posted video of the incident on social media – showing a man standing nearby driving a red pickup while talking on a mobile phone. Beside him was another man on the ground, who appeared to be bleeding, and two others trying to assist the police.