On Tuesday, prominent US civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represented the family of George Floyd, said he will represent the family of Jason Walker, a Black man who was shot dead by an off-duty North Carolina policeman over the weekend.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI) has said it is investigating the killing of Walker, which happened on Saturday in Fayetteville, and has since led to protests against police violence. According to the local media, the police officer involved in the killing, Jeffrey Hash, was put on administrative leave.
Police in Fayetteville say that Walker ran into traffic and jumped onto Hash’s moving vehicle before he was shot by the driver. Fayetteville police say Hash then called the emergency services.“I just had a male jump on my vehicle and broke my windshield. I just shot him,” Hash told a 911 operator.
According to Hash, Walker pulled off the windshield wipers and began beating the windshield and eventually broke it. Hash said his wife and daughter were in the vehicle with him and felt he had to protect them.
However, Fayetteville Police Chief Gina Hawkins later said that, when a black box was taken from Hash’s vehicle, it showed that no impact had occurred.
Turning to Twitter, Crump’s firm wrote, “At the crux of the matter, was Mr. Walker shot in the back as he tried to return home? His parents lived across the street, less than 100 yards away.”
"We stand committed, with the family and the young son that Jason Walker left behind, to find answers as to what happened to him when he was senselessly shot and killed by off-duty deputy Jeffrey Hash," Crump said.
