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By Zoe Strozewski
Staff Writer
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A North Carolina deputy was placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation after fatally shooting a Black man while off duty on Saturday, police said in a news release January 10, 2022. The circumstances of the man's death have become a point of contention between police and people who said they witnessed the encounter, with some claiming that the deputy ran over the man with his truck.
The Fayetteville Police Department said that after a preliminary investigation, they determined that 37-year-old Jason Walker "ran into traffic and jumped on a moving vehicle" on Saturday. Jeffrey Hash, the off-duty deputy, then shot Walker and called 911, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
"Our sincere condolences go out to Jason Walker's family," Cumberland County Sheriff Ennis W. Wright wrote in a Facebook post announcing Hash's administrative leave.
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The fatal shooting inspired a local protest on Sunday. Dozens of demonstrators assembled outside police headquarters and refuted the department's explanation of what happened, WRAL-TV reported.
Elizabeth Ricks, a trauma nurse, said that she witnessed the encounter and even tried to save Walker's life after the shooting. She told the crowd at the protest that Walker was just trying to cross the street while returning home when Hash struck him with his truck and then shot him.
Ricks also told the News & Observer that she was witnessed the entire incident and immediately rushed to try to save Walker's life.
"I did not see anyone in distress. The man was just walking home," Ricks said.
Walker's cousin, Brittany Monroe, told WRAL-TV that he was her "best friend."
"We were really close. It really broke my heart because he would never hurt anyone. I don't understand how it could happen to him. He would do anything for anybody," she said.
Another cousin, who was not identified by name, also told WRAL-TV that the police's description of Walker in his final moments doesn't sound like him.
"Hopefully the system does what's right and gets to the bottom of this. We really just want justice for Jason," he said.
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Hash has been with the sheriff's office since 2005.
Fayetteville police chief Gina Hawkins said during a news conference Sunday that investigators examined the black box computer of the truck, which did not record any impact with any person or thing.
In bystander video of the shooting's aftermath, it appears the off-duty deputy had been driving a red truck that wasn't a law enforcement vehicle. She said the only person at the scene who indicated they witnessed what happened said Walker was not struck by the truck.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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