Facebook Jeffrey Hash (left) and Jason Walker.
Jeffrey Hash is the off-duty sheriff’s lieutenant in Fayetteville, North Carolina, who is accused of shooting and killing a Black man named Jason Walker. Graphic video, which you can watch below, shows the shooting aftermath.
Hash works as a Cumberland County sheriff’s lieutenant, according to a news release from the Fayetteville Police Department.
Protests have erupted in Fayetteville in response to Walker’s shooting death, which is under investigation.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Walker ‘Ran Into Traffic’ & ‘Jumped on a Moving Vehicle,’ Police Say
In the video of the aftermath of the shooting, which happened on January 8, 2022, Walker’s body is lying motionless next to Hash’s truck. A woman — later identified as the wife of the person who filmed the video — appears to be tending to Walker’s wounds, other citizens mill around, and Hash is on the phone. Two uniformed officers approach, and one asks the group, “Who saw it?”
Multiple people talk over each other in response, but one man’s answer can be clearly heard: “We didn’t see it. We heard it. I heard four gunshots and came outside.” Authorities have not verified the number of shots fired.
Hash was not in uniform, and he says in the video that his daughter is in the truck. A woman — presumably his wife — can be seen sitting in the front passenger seat of the truck.
After paramedics arrive, the woman who was providing aid to Walker approaches Hash, but what she initially says is inaudible.
“Ma’am, I’m going to protect my wife and my child,” Hash says in response.
The woman responds, “You had a vehicle. And you still shot him.”
“I’m going to protect my wife and family,” Hash says.
“I was coming down here, he ran across the street, so I stopped, he jumped on my car and started screaming … (unintelligible) beating the glass. I have my daughter, my child in here,” Hash says to one of the officers.
NEWS ALERT: @AttorneyCrump has been retained by the family of Jason Walker, a 37-year-old man who was shot and killed by off-duty Cumberland County deputy Jeffrey Hash on January 8.
On January 8, 2022, at 2:18 p.m., Fayetteville police officers responded to a reported shooting along Bingham Dr. near Shenandoah Dr., according to the police news release.
According to a press release from civil rights attorney Ben Crump — who’s been retained by Walker’s family — the shooting happened less than 100 yards from Walker’s parents’ home. Crump questions whether Walker was shot in the back as he was heading for home.
The police news release said, “The preliminary investigation has revealed an adult male ran into traffic and jumped on a moving vehicle. The driver of the vehicle shot the male subject and notified 911. The male subject was pronounced deceased on scene.”
Police added: “The male subject that was shot has been identified as Jason Walker (B/M, 37) of the 1600 blk of Bingham Dr. His NOK (next of kin) has been notified. The circumstances surrounding the shooting are under investigation by members of the Fayetteville Police Department’s Homicide Unit.”
2. Hash’s Windshield Wiper Was Torn Off, But His Truck Didn’t Strike Anyone, Police Say
Fayetteville Police Chief Gina Hawkins said in a news conference with District Attorney Billy West that Walker’s death was a “tragic event.”
Many in the community have “heavy hearts,” she said.
“An off-duty Cumberland County deputy sheriff” fired the weapon, Hawkins said.
“Any time a death occurs, the community should be upset. There are many postings on social media, and all too often rumors and unverified information begin to spread,” Hawkins said. “It’s important to share some of the confirmed facts of this case with the public to ensure transparency.”
Authorities examined the black box computer in Hash’s truck. “That computer did not record any impact with any person or thing,” Hawkins said.
At the time of the press briefing, “we … have no witnesses who claim that anyone was hit by this truck,” she said. “Individuals at the scene indicated they did not witness the incident,” according to body camera footage of the scene, Hawkins added. The “only witness available” to investigators now “tells us the exact opposite,” said Hawkins.
A windshield wiper was torn off, and “the metal portion was used to break the windshield of the truck in several places,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins said there is no indication that Hash and Walker knew each other.
Asked by a reporter if he was shot in the back and how many times he was shot, she said she did not know that information. She said Hash was not placed under arrest, though he was taken into custody to give a statement to police.
She said she did not have any information that Walker had a gun. She said Hash’s shots “did not go through the windshield.”
“We want our city to be a safe place,” she said, promising a fair investigation.
According to Daily Beast, Elizabeth Ricks, a nurse who helped Walker after the shooting, told protesters at a rally that Walker was “not acting crazy” and did not “jump on traffic.” She claimed Hash had “no remorse,” Daily Beast reported.
3. Hash, Who Is a Lieutenant Who Has Been With the Sheriff’s Office Since 2005, Was Placed on Administrative Leave
Another police murder in North Carolina:
Multiple witnesses in Fayetteville state an off-duty cop hit an unarmed Black man, #JasonWalker with his vehicle and then shot Walker four times in the back, killing him.
In a statement posted to Facebook, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department wrote, “UPDATE FROM CUMBERLAND COUNTY SHERIFF IN REGARDS TO THE OFF-DUTY DEPUTY SHOOTING AND KILLING #JASONWALKER. Employee on Administrative Leave.”
“On January 8, 2022, the Fayetteville Police Department notified the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office that a deputy was involved in a shooting while off duty,” they wrote.
“As a consequence of that information, Deputy Jeffrey Hash has been placed on administrative leave, pending an internal investigation. Deputy Hash has served with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office since 2005 and is currently assigned as a Lieutenant in the Civil Section. Our sincere condolences go out to Jason Walker’s family.”
4. Hash Called 911 & Said Walker ‘Started Beating My Windshield’
Several 911 calls were released to ABC11.
“I just had a male jump on my vehicle and broke my windshield. I just shot him. I am a deputy sheriff,” Hash said at one point in the 911 call.
“You said you shot him?” the dispatcher asked.
“Yes, he jumped on my car, please,” Hash said.
“I was driving down the road, and he came flying across Bingham Drive running,” Hash said at another point in the 911 call.
“Then I stopped so I wouldn’t hit him, and he jumped on my car and started screaming, pulled my windshield wipers off and started beating my windshield and broke my windshield. I had my wife and my daughter in my vehicle.”
The dispatcher asked, “Did he have any weapons, sir?”
“No, he just tore my wipers off and started beating … he busted my windshield. I don’t know, ma’am,” Hash replied.
At one point during the 911 call, a bystander can be heard asking Hash why he shot Walker, to which he replies, “I don’t know.”
5. State Investigators Have Taken Over the Case
The family members of other unarmed victims killed by police officers are also among the crowd at the #JasonWalker protest in #Fayetteville
They are demanding accountability from the Fayetteville PD & Sheriff’s Office, government officials, and news media.
According to the police news release, “Investigators with the NC SBI have assumed the investigation surrounding the shooting that occurred on January 8, 2022 along Bingham Drive.”
They added: “The investigation has revealed the driver of the truck, who shot Jason Walker, was an off-duty Cumberland County Sheriff’s Deputy. Any additional updates will be released by the State Bureau of Investigations. Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact the SBI at 1-800-334-3000, Fayetteville Police Detective C. Crews at (910) 751-1046, or Crimestoppers at p3tips.com 🚨.”
Hash placed a 911 call, Hawkins said.
Walker’s cousin Brittany Monroe told WRAL.com of Walker, “I was sad. That’s my 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.”
Another cousin told WRAL: “We’re hearing one side of the story that sounds like a person that Jason is not, and then on the other side, we’re hearing a story that makes complete sense. We have to take it one day at a time. Hopefully the system does what’s right and gets to the bottom.”
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