A judge has ordered the release of body camera footage of officers who arrived at the scene after Jason Walker was killed by an off-duty cop in North Carolina.
Walker, 37, was shot and killed earlier this month by off-duty Cumberland County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Jeffrey Hash, who was driving his car with his wife and daughter. Hash claimed Walker jumped on his car, tore off his windscreen wipers, and began smashing his windshield.
The initial investigation determined that Walker “ran into traffic and jumped on a moving vehicle,” and the unidentified deputy subsequently shot him and then called 911, police said.
However, others including trauma nurse Elizabeth Ricks, who witnessed the incident and performed first aid on Walker after Hash shot him, said she saw Walker was crossing the street when he was struck by Hash’s car, who then got out and shot him.
“And from what I saw from behind, at first when that part happened, was he hit him, and Jason hit forward, and then slammed—his body was slammed onto the windshield,” Ricks said according to the Daily Mail.com.
The incident has led to days of protests and calls for Hash, who has been placed on administrative leave, to be arrested and charged. Local police have since said Hash’s vehicle shows no signs of damage, and Walker’s body showed no signs of impact from a vehicle.
Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Jim Ammons approved the release of the footage after Fayetteville Police Chief Gina Hawkins filed a petition Tuesday to have the body cam footage of officers who arrived at the scene made public.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump
, who has represented the families of George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor called the incident an all too familiar one from law enforcement.“We have reason to believe that this was a case of ‘shoot first, ask later,’ a philosophy seen all too often within law enforcement,” Crump told reporters adding, “We’re not asking for anything extraordinary, all we’re asking for his the truth.”