OPINION

The Fayetteville Observer Forum: Was the prosecutor’s decision fair in the Jason Walker shooting?

The Fayetteville Observer

Jeffrey Hash, an off-duty Cumberland County sheriff’s lieutenant, shot to death Jason Walker in a traffic incident on Jan. 8.

Walker, who was 37 and African American, had jumped onto Hash’s vehicle, according to eyewitness accounts, including that of Walker’s father. The aftermath of the shooting was captured on video. 

More:N.C. special prosecutor: No charges will be filed against Cumberland County deputy in Jason Walker's killing

The Cumberland County District Attorney’s office recused itself, and state officials took over the case. Regular protests calling for justice for Walker have been held since. 

Shaun McMillan and handful of other demonstrators shout out Jason Walker's name to people attending the Dogwood Festival during a Justice for Jason Walker demonstration on Saturday, April 23, 2022. Jason Walker, 37, was shot and killed by off-duty Cumberland County Sheriff's deputy Lt. Jeffrey Hash. The special prosecutor who reviewed charges in the fatal shooting of Jason Walker on Jan. 8, has declined to pursue criminal charges against Hash.

In an April 21 letter, Kimberley Spahos, director of the N.C. Conference of District Attorneys, found that Hash’s shooting was justified on grounds of self-defense. The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation's findings said Walker jumped on the hood, tore off the windshield wiper and struck the vehicle’s front glass with enough force to shatter the windshield, spraying shards of glass onto Hash and his wife in the passenger seat.

More:Autopsy reveals Jason Walker was shot 4 times, including shot to head and back

Hash got out of the car and Walker lunged at him according to the SBI account. Hash, who was armed, saw something in Walker’s hand but was “unsure whether it was the windshield wiper or something else,” according to the account. Hash shot Walker four times — in the head, in the chest, in the back and in the thigh.

Ben Crump, a nationally known civil rights attorney who is representing Walker’s family, said in a statement: “The decision from the special prosecutor to not press charges against Jeffrey Hash is upsetting to everyone who knew and loved Jason in his life and has mourned his untimely death.”

More:Myron B. Pitts: Distrust fuels dueling narratives between Fayetteville law enforcement, protesters

He criticized self-defense laws in North Carolina that he said enabled people to pull the trigger too readily.

Two days after Spahos' letter, protests on Walker’s behalf resumed during the city’s Dogwood Festival. The protesters chanted Jason Walker’s name at the Market House downtown. 

We ask our readers: What are your own thoughts? Did the prosecutor reach a fair conclusion in this case? Was Hash’s use of force reasonable or excessive?

Share your comments online or in the form above or send an email to eletters@fayobserver.com, subject line: Observer Forum. You can also comment in the Facebook group “Community Conversations With Myron.”

We will publish a selection of responses.