Still No Arrest For Off-Duty Cop Who Shot Black Man In Broad Daylight

Photo: Getty Images

Authorities in Fayetteville, North Carolina have yet to arrest the off-duty cop who shot and killed a Black man while he was walking home because evidence is "still being collected."

Jason Walker was "just walking home" Saturday (January 8) when Cumberland County Sheriff Lieutenant Jeffrey Hash hit him with his pickup truck, before getting out and shooting Walker four times in the back.

In a 9-1-1 call released Tuesday (January 11), Hash claimed Walker jumped onto the vehicle, tore off his windshield wiper and began breaking the windshield.

"I just had to shoot him," Hash told a bystander. Eyewitnesses refuted Hash's claims, stating Walker was "just walking home" when Hash ran into him and then opened fire.

"Often individuals are not arrested immediately ... with lack of evidence," Police Chief Gina Hawkins told CBS 7 News. "So right now evidence is being collected by the State Bureau of Investigation to determine that."

Protests sprouted up across the city for a third night as the community demands accountability and for Hash to be arrested. Hash was taken into custody after the shooting, but wasn't charged and has been placed on administrative leave.

Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin has called for continued peaceful demonstrations as the investigation –– which now includes the Department of Justice and FBI –– continues.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump has been retained by Walker's family to represent them in the case.

"This lack of answers is UNACCEPTABLE! Walker's family, including his young son, deserve transparency into why he was senselessly killed," Crump tweeted.

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